| Cardinal quelea | |
|---|---|
 | |
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) | |
Thecardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis) is a species ofbird in the familyPloceidae.It is found inBurundi,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Ethiopia,Kenya,Malawi,Rwanda,South Sudan,Tanzania,Uganda, andZambia.
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]
Gustav Hartlaub was the first to describe the cardinal quelea, giving it the scientific nameHyphantica cardinalis in 1880, based on specimens that were collected byEmin 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 genusQueleopsis.[6] Its name inSwahili iskwelea kidari-chekundu.[7]
Based on recentDNA-analysis, the red-headed quelea forms a clade with the cardinal quelea, and this clade issister to thered-billed queleaQ. quelea. The genusQuelea belongs to the group of true weavers (subfamily Ploceinae), and is most related toFoudia, a genus of six or seven species that occur on theislands of the western Indian Ocean. This clade is sister to the Asian species of the genusPloceus. The following tree represents current insights in the relationships between the species ofQuelea, and their closest relatives.[8]
