Red-billed quelea
Quelea quelea
SUBFAMILY
Ploceinae
TAXONOMY
Emberiza quelea Linnaeus, 1758, 'India' = Senegal.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Red-billed dioch; French: Travailleur à bec rouge; German: Blutschnabelweber; Spanish: Quelea de Pico Rojo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
4.7 in (12 cm); female 0.5–0.9 oz (15–25 g), male 0.6–0.9 oz (16–26 g). Breeding male has face mask, either black or white, with pink or yellowish border; upperparts light brown with dark central streaks, underparts whitish. Bill red, legs pink. Non-breeding male and female lack face mask, gray-brown, streaked upperparts and whitish underparts. Bill red; yellow in breeding females. Juvenile like female.
DISTRIBUTION
Throughout unforested sub-Saharan Africa.
HABITAT
Open grassland and savanna.
BEHAVIOR
Highly gregarious, flocks sometimes numbering millions. Movements highly synchronized in flocks. Huge roosts may break tree branches. Migratory with clear seasonal patterns in some regions.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Primarily small seeds about 0.1 in (2 mm) in diameter, also insects. Drinks regularly, even in arid regions; flocks may sweep over water, drinking on the wing.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Colonial, monogamous. Breeding activities in colony closely synchronized; eggs and chicks may be abandoned when flock moves on. May breed several times in same season, depending on local food supply. Nest built by male, a thin-walled ball with large side entrance. Lays one to five eggs. Incubation 10–12 days, fledging 11–13 days. Both sexes incubate and feed young. Vast colonies with 500 nests per tree attract hundreds of predators, including eagles, vultures, storks, and carnivorous mammals.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened; considered one of the most abundant bird species. Population can tolerate huge losses, and control efforts have had no noticeable effect on numbers.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Queleas are the major animal pest of cereal crops in Africa, and international programs coordinated by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization began in the 1960s. In 1989 losses caused by this bird were estimated at $22 million per annum. However, many other factors contribute to crop losses in Africa. Current research focuses on management rather than attempts to eliminate queleas or reduce their overall numbers. In parts of West Africa, traditional hunters net queleas to pluck, dry, and sell in village markets.
