Residents baffled by flock of red-billed queleas feeding from bird feeder
Red-billed queleas are the most abundant wild bird on the planet, with an estimated population of 1.5 billion birds.
BLUFF based bird watcher and professional snake catcher, Warren Dick, has been inundated with calls from residents claiming to have “strange looking sparrows” in their gardens.
Warren identified the birds as red-billed queleas.
These queleas are indigenous to most parts of Southern Africa, however, they are migratory birds within their range. The main reason for their migrations is for food.
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These birds often fly in big flocks consisting many thousands of birds, because of this and the fact that they can do large scale damage to grain crops they are often seen as a pest and have earned a nickname of ‘feathered locusts’.
Sadly, queleas are poisoned with pesticide to try control their numbers. They are considered to be the most numerous birds on the planet with an estimated breeding population of about 1.5 billion.
However, in urban gardens, they are a welcome burst of colour and lively activity.
“Every afternoon, my neighbors put seed out for the birds and I get to watch about 50 of these sparrow sized birds playing in the tree,” said Warren.
“Let’s enjoy these little birds for as long as they choose to visit our gardens,” he added.
Contact Warren to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified. Call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353 or visit his Facebook page, Warren’s Small World
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