After I sent notification of an african weaver finch in Edmonston last Saturday, Doug Bolt, who put fuzzy pictures of the bird on his website,  queried his African connections via their listserves and the concensus is that the bird in question is the Orange Bishop, which is also known as Euplectes franciscanus. It was pretty amazing to take a picture on a Saturday and by midweek have responses from experts in South Africa, Spain, and other places to help in the ID of this bird.

The bird is actually listed in Sibley (p. 537 in my edition) where it is noted that they occasionally escape from captivity, which is certainly the case for this individual.  Doug noted that there was a similar individual found a few years ago in the same vicinity.  Anyone remember anything about that individual?  Could this be the same individual or is it possible that the species is establishing in MD?  There is a small population somewhere in California.

Michel

Michel A. Cavigelli
Research Soil Scientist
Sustainable Agriculture Systems Lab
USDA-ARS, BARC
Bldg 001, Rm 140
10300 Baltimore Ave
Beltsville, MD 20705

(301) 504-8327 phone
(301) 504-8370 fax