Red-Billed Quelea are perhaps the most abundant birds on earth with an estimated post-breeding population of 1 500 billion! They occur widely across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and down to South Africa. Quelea are highly gregarious and roost, feed and breed in flocks numbering in the millions. They feed primarily on grass seeds but will also search for insects such as termites, caterpillars and beetles. Red-Billed Quelea are monogamous colonial breeders. The nest is a small oval ball of grass built by the male, often within the branches of thorn trees; individual trees can support up to 3000 nests and the colony may cover an area of up to 20 hectares. The female lays between one and five pale green or blue eggs which hatch after ten days. The new chicks develop quickly and leave the nest ten to twelve days after hatching. Three weeks later they are entirely independent.

Acknowledgements to Peter McIntyre for the reference photograph.

Signed Limited Edition Print on 300 GSM Fine Art Cotton Paper from an original watercolour painting. This print is delivered rolled into a tube, ready for framing. Free worldwide shipping.

Limited Edition of 25 Fine Art Prints.

Size: 420mm x 600mm