Bird Album
Cardinal Quelea
Quelea cardinalis (Hartlaub, 1880)
13 gWeight
The cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
Busiest months: April · Most records: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: April · Most records: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Cardinal Quelea has been recorded at 99 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.
Records by month Southern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Nairobi NPKenya136 records
- Tarangire NPTanzania86 records
- Amboseli NPKenya68 records
More places
- Maasai Mara NR – Mara TriangleKenya65 records
- Serengeti NPTanzania38 records
- Lake Manyara NPTanzania35 records
- Speke Bay LodgeTanzania32 records
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area – Ngorongoro CraterTanzania24 records
- Budongo Forest Reserve – Royal MileUganda24 records
- Maasai Mara NRKenya23 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Cardinal Quelea?
The Cardinal Quelea weighs around 13 g.
Where does the Cardinal Quelea live?
Its breeding range: Africa: eastern, east-central. It is most often recorded in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
When is the best time to see the Cardinal Quelea?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Southern Hemisphere).
Is the Cardinal Quelea endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Cardinal Quelea as Least Concern.
What does the Cardinal Quelea eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the Cardinal Quelea in?
It belongs to the family Weavers, Widowbirds (Ploceidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Weight
- 13 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Partial migrant
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 58 mm
- Tail
- 33 mm
- Bill
- 12 mm
- Tarsus
- 17 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Africa: eastern, east-central
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Weavers, Widowbirds Ploceidae
- Genus
- Quelea
Other birds in the genus Quelea
Red-headed QueleaQuelea erythrops
Red-billed QueleaQuelea quelea
White-billed Buffalo WeaverBubalornis albirostris
Red-billed Buffalo WeaverBubalornis niger
White-headed Buffalo WeaverDinemellia dinemelli
White-browed Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser mahali
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser superciliosus
Donaldson Smith's Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser donaldsoni
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser rufoscapulatus
Rufous-tailed WeaverHisturgops ruficauda
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Lorenzo Vinciguerra. ↗
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