Red-headed Quelea
Quelea erythrops
The red head of the breeding male is distinctive. Non-breeding male and female are nondescript, streaky brown birds with buffy eyebrows. Found in moist grassland and savanna. Most records are of territorial breeding males. Becomes inconspicuous when not breeding, mixing with flocks of other weavers and seedeaters. The call is a rough “jyet”, and the song is an unmusical chattering. Breeding male very similar to breeding male Cardinal Quelea but has more red on the nape and less on the breast, producing a more cleanly “hooded” look.
Identification
The red head of the breeding male is distinctive. Non-breeding male and female are nondescript, streaky brown birds with buffy eyebrows. Found in moist grassland and savanna. Most records are of territorial breeding males. Becomes inconspicuous when not breeding, mixing with flocks of other weavers and seedeaters. The call is a rough “jyet”, and the song is an unmusical chattering. Breeding male very similar to breeding male Cardinal Quelea but has more red on the nape and less on the breast, producing a more cleanly “hooded” look.
Taxonomy
The red-headed quelea was collected by Carl Weiss on Sao Tome island in 1847, and after its arrival at the Hamburg Museum described for science for the first time by Gustav Hartlaub in 1848, who named it Ploceus erythrops. In 1951, Hans von Boetticher regarded the cardinal quelea and red-headed quelea sufficiently different from the red-billed quelea to create a new genus Queleopsis.<p>The species epithet erythrops derives from the Greek word ἐρυθρός (eruthros), meaning "red" and ὄψ (ops) meaning "eye" or "face", referring to the rufous or red face. Ludwig Reichenbach gave the species its first English name in 1863: red-headed dioch. Other vernacular names in the English language include pokerhead, and red-headed weaver. Its vernacular name in Swahili is kwelea kichwa-chekundu.<p>Based on recent DNA-analysis, the red-headed quelea forms a clade with the cardinal quelea (Q. cardinalis), and this clade is sister to the red-billed quelea Q. quelea. The genus Quelea belongs to the group of true weavers (subfamily Ploceinae), and is most related to Foudia, a genus of six or seven species that occur on the islands of the western Indian Ocean. This clade is sister to the Asian species of the genus Ploceus. The following tree represents current insight of the relationships between the species of Quelea, and their closest relatives.
- Scientific name
- Quelea erythrops
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1848)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Quelea
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Heavily-built grayish ground-dwelling bird with short heavy legs, gray neck and chest, and strongly marked (camouflaged) back and tail. Scarce endemic resident of semi-arid open forest (typically the multi-stemmed "Mallee" Eucalypt vegetation). Builds large nest-mounds from leaf litter. Most sightings are of single birds or pairs.
Semicollared Flycatcher
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Very similar to other black-and-white small flycatchers. Male differs from Collared and Pied Flycatchers in thinly connected black crown and mantle, and white median coverts. Female is identified by the double pale wingbars and less extensive white areas on the wing. Breeds in mountains and hills in mixed or deciduous forest. During migration and on wintering grounds, found in various open wooded areas, from riparian forests to acacia savannas. Song is a high-pitched musical whistle interspersed with short scratches. Call is a short thin “seep” note and short metallic tacks.
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Tiny, short-tailed bird with a thin, slightly upturned bill. Yellow eyering in all plumages, but different subspecies vary tremendously in plumage, ranging from black-headed to white-headed, streaked and unstreaked; in flight all, show prominent pale wingstripe. Inhabits woodlands, where usually seen in small flocks that methodically clamber along tree trunks, probing for insects in bark. Birds give frequent “chip-chip” call as they forage.
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