''Quelea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s that belongs to the weaver family Ploceidae, confined to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. These are small-sized, sparrow- or finch-like gregarious birds, with bills adapted to eating seeds. Queleas may be nomadic over vast ranges; the

red-billed quelea The red-billed quelea (; ''Quelea quelea''), also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately long and weighing —migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. ...

is said to be the most numerous bird species in the world.

Taxonomy

There are three species:

Phylogeny

Based on recent DNA-analysis, the red-billed quelea is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

that consist of both remaining species of the genus ''Quelea'', namely ''Q. cardinalis'' and ''Q. erythrops''. The genus 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 ''Ploceus'' is a genus of birds in the weaver family, Ploceidae. They are native to the Indomalayan and Afrotropical realms. Taxonomy and systematics Phylogeny The genus ''Ploceus'' was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier ...

''. The following tree represents current insight of the relationships between the species of ''Quelea'', and their closest relatives.

Impact on agriculture

''Q. quelea'' is a major pest to small-grain cereal crops in much of sub-Saharan Africa; the kernels of corn are too big for it. ''Q. erythrops'' may cause substantial damage to rice. ''Q. cardinalis'' is not known to raid crops. cited on

References

Ploceidae Bird genera Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach {{Ploceidae-stub