Cardinal quelea

Cardinal quelea
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Ploceidae
Genus:	Quelea
Species:	Q. cardinalis
Binomial name
Quelea cardinalis (Hartlaub, 1880)

The cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Description

The cardinal quelea is a small (about 10 centimetres or 3.9 inches long) sparrow-like bird with a short heavy black bill, that breeds in colonies. The male in breeding plumage has a red head extending onto the breast but not onto the streaked nape. The female has a yellowish face, brow stripes and throat. The non-breeding plumage of the male resembles that of the female, but retains some red on its head.^[2][3]

Taxonomy

Gustav Hartlaub was the first to describe the cardinal quelea, giving it the scientific name Hyphantica cardinalis in 1880, based on specimens that were collected by Emin Pasha near Lado in South-Sudan during 1879.^[4][5] 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.^[6] Its name in Swahili is kwelea kidari-chekundu.^[7]

Phylogeny

Based on recent DNA-analysis, the red-headed quelea forms a clade with the cardinal quelea, 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 insights in the relationships between the species of Quelea, and their closest relatives.^[8]

	genus Quelea Q. quelea Q. cardinalis Q. erythrops genus Foudia Asian species of the genus Ploceus

References

1. BirdLife International (2018). "Quelea cardinalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22719120A132125511. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719120A132125511.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
2. "Kardinaalwever Quelea cardinalis". Werkgroep voor Ploceidae (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-05-17.
3. Ian Sinclair; P.A.R. Hockey, eds. (2005). The Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa. Struik. ISBN 978-1-77007-243-5. Retrieved 2017-05-17.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
4. "Cardinal Quelea". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
5. "Cardinal Quelea". Weaver Watch. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
6. "Scientific name: Queleopsis". The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
7. "Kardinaalwever Quelea cardinalis". Avibase. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
8. De Silva, Thilina N.; Peterson, A. Townsend; Bates, John M.; Fernandoa, Sumudu W.; Girard, Matthew G. (2017). "Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 21–32. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013. PMID 28012957.

External links

• Image at ADW