Red-headed Quelea (Quelea erythrops)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Red-headed Quelea

Quelea erythrops (Hartlaub, 1848)

19 gWeight

The red-headed quelea (Quelea erythrops) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.

Most records: Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Red-headed Quelea has been recorded at 149 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 29 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Atewa – farm scrub and degraded forestGhana58 records
  2. Macaneta – Wetland, dune forests and coastMozambique45 records
  3. Mole NP – Samole Loop & waterholeGhana30 records
More places
  1. Budongo Forest Reserve – Royal MileUganda27 records
  2. Murchison Falls NP – North sideUganda27 records
  3. Pietermaritzburg – Darvill Resources ParkSouth Africa24 records
  4. Mole NP – Mole Hotel & waterholeGhana23 records
  5. Rio Savanne WetlandsMozambique22 records
  6. Mole NP – Samole loopGhana20 records
  7. Brenu Beach – grasslandsGhana18 records

Countries and regions with the most records

GhanaUgandaMozambiqueSouth AfricaSão Tomé & PríncipeCameroonTanzaniaZambia

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 red-headed quelea (Quelea erythrops) 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 Red-headed Quelea?

The Red-headed Quelea weighs around 19 g.

Where does the Red-headed Quelea live?

Its breeding range: Africa: Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and south to eastern South Africa. It is most often recorded in Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique.

Is the Red-headed Quelea endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Red-headed Quelea as Least Concern.

What does the Red-headed Quelea eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Red-headed Quelea in?

It belongs to the family Weavers, Widowbirds (Ploceidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
19 g
Habitat
Grassland
Diet
Seeds
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Partial migrant
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
60 mm
Tail
34 mm
Bill
15 mm
Tarsus
17 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and south to eastern South Africa

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Weavers, Widowbirds Ploceidae
Genus
Quelea

Other birds in the genus Quelea

Cardinal QueleaCardinal QueleaQuelea cardinalisRed-billed QueleaRed-billed QueleaQuelea queleaWhite-billed Buffalo WeaverWhite-billed Buffalo WeaverBubalornis albirostrisRed-billed Buffalo WeaverRed-billed Buffalo WeaverBubalornis nigerWhite-headed Buffalo WeaverWhite-headed Buffalo WeaverDinemellia dinemelliWhite-browed Sparrow-WeaverWhite-browed Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser mahaliChestnut-crowned Sparrow-WeaverChestnut-crowned Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser superciliosusDonaldson Smith's Sparrow-WeaverDonaldson Smith's Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser donaldsoniChestnut-backed Sparrow-WeaverChestnut-backed Sparrow-WeaverPlocepasser rufoscapulatusRufous-tailed WeaverRufous-tailed WeaverHisturgops ruficauda
Red-headed Quelea

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Duncan McKenzie. ↗

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