Red-billed quelea

The Red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea), also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small passerine bird of the Ploceidae family. It is found only in Africa.

There are more quelea than any other wild bird species in the world: they number over 1.5 billion.Sekercioglu, Cagan Hakki 2006. "Foreword". in Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott & David Christie (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. p48. .There are more chickens than quelea, but chickens are not wild. Single colonies may have as many as 30 million.Weaver Bird Natural History Queleas can migrate as far as 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles). Single flocks can destroy as much as 50 tons of grain a day. Queleas have destroyed over US$22 million of grain in a single year.Damages from 1989

Males grow to a length of about 4.75 inches (12 cm) with a 1.75 inch (4.45 cm) tail and weigh 19.47 grams (0.69 oz).  Females are a little smaller growing to about 4.60 inches (11.68 cm) with a 1.70 inch (4.32 cm) tail and weigh 18.34 grams (0.65 oz).

Nests are built by the males and take about seven days to complete. Males defend the nest while building it and become very angry when something gets too close.  After it is complete, females lay 3 to 7 eggs. Eggs hatch in about two weeks. Males continue to defend the nest after the eggs hatch.

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Category:Passeri
Category:Birds of Africa