LC
Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2018 Least Concern
2016 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 25,800,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size unknown - - -
Population trend stable - suspected -
Generation length 3.2 years - - -

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as possibly the most abundant bird in the world (Fry and Keith 2004).

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Angola extant native yes
Benin extant native yes
Botswana extant native yes
Burkina Faso extant native yes
Burundi extant native yes
Cameroon extant native yes
Central African Republic extant native yes
Chad extant native yes
Congo extant native yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the extant native yes
Côte d'Ivoire extant native yes
Djibouti extant vagrant yes
Eritrea extant native yes
Eswatini extant native yes
Ethiopia extant native yes
Gabon extant native yes
Gambia extant native yes
Ghana extant native yes
Guinea-Bissau extant native yes
Kenya extant native yes
Lesotho extant native yes
Malawi extant native yes
Mali extant native yes
Mauritania extant native yes
Mozambique extant native yes
Namibia extant native yes
Niger extant native yes
Nigeria extant native yes
Rwanda extant native yes
Senegal extant native yes
Somalia extant native yes
South Africa extant native yes
South Sudan extant native yes
Sudan extant native
Tanzania extant native yes
Uganda extant native yes
Zambia extant native yes
Zimbabwe extant native yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land major resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Pastureland major resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Savanna Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits (max) 3000 m

Utilisation
Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets/display animals, horticulture - - international non-trivial recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Quelea quelea. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-billed-quelea-quelea-quelea on 19/03/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org on 19/03/2024.