Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...

Cardinal Quelea

Quelea cardinalis

The Cardinal Quelea, a diminutive bird roughly 10 centimeters in length, bears a resemblance to sparrows and is distinguished by its short, robust black bill. During the breeding season, the male is adorned with a striking red head that extends onto the breast but halts before the streaked nape. In contrast, the female exhibits a yellowish face with brow stripes and throat. Outside of the breeding season, the male's plumage mirrors that of the female, albeit with remnants of red on the head.

Identification Tips

To identify the Cardinal Quelea, look for the male's vibrant red head and chest during the breeding season, which does not extend to the streaked nape. Females and non-breeding males can be recognized by their yellowish facial features and the male's residual red on the head.

Habitat

This species thrives in the regions of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Distribution

The Cardinal Quelea is indigenous to a swath of East Africa, encompassing countries such as Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Behaviour

These birds are colonial breeders, indicating a social structure where many pairs nest in proximity to each other.

Taxonomy

First described by Gustav Hartlaub in 1880 as Hyphantica cardinalis, the Cardinal Quelea was later placed in the genus Queleopsis by Hans von Boetticher in 1951 due to its distinct differences from the Red-billed Quelea. Its Swahili name is "kwelea kidari-chekundu."

Phylogeny

DNA analysis reveals that the Cardinal Quelea and the Red-headed Quelea form a clade, which is closely related to the Red-billed Quelea. The genus Quelea is part of the true weavers (subfamily Ploceinae) and is most closely related to the genus Foudia from the western Indian Ocean islands and the Asian species of the genus Ploceus.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List classifies the Cardinal Quelea as Least Concern, indicating that the species does not currently face a significant risk of extinction in the wild.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Cardinal Queleas on Birda

Sightings
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Stéphanie DLW
Stéphanie DLW
07 Jul 2024 - 7:05am
Uganda

More Weavers, Widowbirds

A photo of a Thick-billed Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons) , male

Thick-billed Weaver

Amblyospiza albifrons
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Trevarthen1
Birda fan
I really enjoy using Birda, all sightings are recorded and photos can be added. There are monthly challenges which help to get you out to record your sightings. The Birda community are great and are happy to help with unidentified bird sightings. Suitable for all ages and experience!
Viperray5
Loving it
I really enjoy being able to interact with other birders on this platform! This seems like a great way to meet other birders and find some new spots.
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
Hip An
Fantastic
Really enjoying Birda where I live i have a lot of Red kites really hard to photograph but I can video are you planning some place on the app where us Birda can post vids🦉🦅
Unbridled Discoveries
Great app for bird lovers
I love this app! It’s a wonderful way to track birding sessions, and also connect you with fellow birders. I also really like the unidentified bird section, it’s a great community tool to help figure out what a never-before-seen bird is!
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
Robred 2
Fun way to add to your birdwatching experience
I enjoy watching birds in my backyard, but this app helped me really pay attention while on vacation this summer. It was fun to add new birds to my bird watching app.
Jane N
A great app
Enjoying it immensely and finding it useful too. Recording the different birds and counting them is showing me how the present climate is affecting them all. I've trebled the numbers by planting native hedging. A great app.
SuperOliviaGirl
Really great app
It’s easy to use and it’s fun to log the birds you notice on a walk or just in your garden. There’s a option to record the birds you see in a session which is really nice. Good excuse to stop for a while and just watch birds. I am also enjoying the information part where you can find out fact about birds from all over the world.
Madstherangers
A mordern game changer
Birda is an awesome app, its updated the world of birding to the modern day with a fun and easy to use app. It’s engaging and allows positive interaction with fellow bird lovers!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.