Quelea cardinalis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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. 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.
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. 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. Its name in Swahili is kwelea kidari-chekundu.
Based on recent DNA-analysis, the red-headed quelea forms a clade with the cardinal quelea, and this... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 16 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 17 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cardinal Quelea sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 251st most-seen of the 380 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cardinal Quelea in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to November, the lowest months. That is one of Tsavo West National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 5 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cardinal Quelea sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Cardinal Quelea sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 10%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 10%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cardinal Quelea is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (31 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
