Intl. J. of Mol. Evol. and Biodivers. 2015, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1-4
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The native range of queleas extends over an estimates
9 400 000 km²in Africa (Bird Life International,
2004), including Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Chad, Congo, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,
Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan,
Swaziland, Tanzania, United Republic of Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In Nigeria, they are abundant in the North, including
Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa and Katsina
States.
Colonies feed in the early morning and late afternoon,
gathering in the middle of the day in a shady area to
preen. Overnight, members of the colony roost
together (Burton and Burton, 2002). Red-billed
Quelea is called avian locust. They are one of
Sub-Saharan Africa’s crop pests. They attack
small-grain crops (Table 1) throughout Semi-Arid
zones, feeding mainly on Wheat, Rice and
Sorghum/Millet in dry season, early raining season
and rainy season respectively (Cheke et al, 2007).
Red-billed Queleas are gregarious. Adewoye (1997)
reported that Quelea birds have been part of the
ecosystem of Jigawa, Yobe and Borno States for years.
They are extremely difficult pest to control due to
their enormous numbers, high reproductive potential
and vast inaccessible range that they occupy (Jackson,
1974). They are abundant in agricultural lands
compared with natural grasslands (Berruti, 2000).
Red-billed Queleas are migratory. In agricultural areas,
Quelea has also become less migratory, in response to
a year-round food source (Berruti, 2000). This paper
studied the conflicts resulting from Red-billed Quelea
interaction with human and resource use, the
consequences of this interaction as well as its control.
Table 1 Seasons and crops affected by Red-Billed Quelea
Season
Crop (s) affected
Dry season
Wheat
Early rainy season
Rice
Rainy season
Sorghum, millet
Note: Source: Cheke et al., 2007
Quelea birds-human conflict
With an estimated adult breeding population of at least
1.5 billion, FAO (2007) estimates agricultural losses
attributable to the Quelea in excess of $50 million
annually.
In northern parts of Nigeria, Red-billed Quelea has
been known to totally destroy many cereal farms.
They are capable of destroying entire crops, over areas
up to 1 000 ha (Ibrahim, 2007). An individual Quelea
consumes an average of 18 grams of grain per day. It
is not unusual for flocks to number into the millions,
so a flock of 2 million birds can eat up to 50 tonnes of
grain in a day, or 1 500 tonnes within 30 days, which
is worth approximately US $ 600 000 (Pimentel,
2002)
Also, in 2005, RBQ were driven south by the drought
in Niger, and they had their way to the Northern states
of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa and Katsina
where they destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of
rice fields (Ahemba, 2005).
Furthermore, in 2010, a flock of Quelea birds covering
about 2 km
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invaded Borno State, destroying over 1
450 Ha of farmlands of millet, rice and guinea corn in
four local councils (Ibrahim 2010). They migrated
from the shores of Lake Chad, bordering Niger, Chad
and Cameroun to destroy crops in Kala, Ngala, Mafa
and Marte councils of Borno State. The affected
farmlands included that of millet, rice and guinea corn
which the people rely on as their staple food and
means of livelihood. In 2009, RBQ destroyed
farmlands in nine council areas of Borno State, before
the state government engaged a quelea tox spraying
firm at the cost of about #25 million (Musa, 2010).
About 120 000 tons of millet, 90 000 tons of sorghum,
between 8 000-10 000 tons of rice were lost to
Red-billed Quelea between 1993 and 1995 in Jigawa
State (Adewoye, 1997). NCF (2001) concluded that
depredation of crops by Red-billed Quelea has
hardened farmers’ attitudes against bird conservation
in the areas.
Consequences of human-Quelea birds conflict
Based on the revelations of this review, the conflicts
between human and RBQ could be said to have lead to:
