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Weaver Wednesday 3 [254] - Range changes [17]: Red-headed Quelea

2017-04-26 (778)


gravit8 Weaver Wednesday 3: range changes in S Africa (species text)

Red-headed Quelea Quelea erythrops

map
Red-headed Quelea, Range-change map between SABAP1 (1987-1991) and SABAP2 (2007-current).
Red, orange and yellow = cells with very large, large, and small relative decreases
Blue, dark green and light green = cells with very large, large and small relative increases.
Cells = quarter-degree grid cells; Only cells with at least 4 checklists in both SABAP1&2 shown. All cells had this species recorded in SABAP1 or in SABAP2 or in both (more about interpretation at Biodiversity Observations 7.62: 1-13).

Red-headed Quelea
Red-headed Quelea,
figure from Birdpix

Range changes in SA

Range change summary
More 4 lists 30 lists
increases n % n %
Decrease 11 18 10 18
Tiny change 2 4 2 4
Increase 49 79 43 78
Total 62 100 55 100
In South Africa the Red-headed Quelea has many more grid cells with increases in reporting rate than cells showing decreases, between SABAP1 (1987-1991) and SABAP2 (2007-).

The points below match the points on the map above.

Areas with very large increases include:
1. Along the eastern coast of South Africa.

Areas with very large decreases include:
2. The interior edge of its range in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Red-headed Quelea occurs at a low density in southern Africa. During SABAP1 the Red-headed Quelea was not recorded in the Eastern Cape, but there had been many records prior to SABAP1.

Range changes elsewhere

Botswana: new arrival (Tyler 2008a).
Chad: seen near Mongo, unusually far north (Demey 2015b).