Red-billed Quelea
Quelea quelea
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyPloceidae (Weavers and Allies)
- GenusQuelea (Queleas)
- SpeciesQuelea quelea (Red-billed Quelea)
The red-billed quelea (; Quelea quelea), also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small, seasonally nomadic, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighs 15 to 26 g (0.53 to 0.92 oz). It was named by Linnaeus in 1758, who considered it a bunting, but Ludwig Reichenbach assigned it in 1850 to the new genus Quelea. Three subspecies are recognised, with Q. q. quelea occurring roughly from Senegal to Chad, Q. q. aethiopica from Sudan to Somalia and Tanzania, and Q. q. Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-billed Quelea sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, based on 48 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Scaly Weaver
Sporopipes squamifrons
Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatus
Red Bishop
Euplectes orix
Chestnut Weaver
Ploceus rubiginosus
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilis
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Plocepasser mahali
Social Weaver
Philetairus socius
Red-shouldered Glossy-starling
Lamprotornis nitens
Crimson-breasted Gonolek
Laniarius atrococcineus
Mariqua Flycatcher
Bradornis mariquensis
Yellow Canary
Crithagra flaviventris
Cape Sparrow
Passer melanurus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Red-billed Quelea in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park?
About 19% of wildlife watchers report a Red-billed Quelea sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, based on 48 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Red-billed Quelea in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Red-billed Quelea in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in our monthly data.