Quelea: Redbilled Quelea
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A multi-thousand flock of Redbilled Quelea coming to drink. Perhaps at some signal, a small group of about 50 would alight on a mud spit, drink, then fly off to nearby bushes to wait for the others to have a turn. This procedure continued until all had drunk. By this time, the weight of these small birds caused the branches to be almost resting on the ground. Note the Fish Eagle (upper left corner) who was probably fishing in the same pond. I did not see the Fish Eagle, a raptor, try to capture any Quelea. [See next images].[Shinde Island, Botswanda].
This close-up of the Redbilled Quelea (see text of the previous image] shows how densely packed those still-circling birds were while awaiting their turn to drink. How did they manage to avoid colliding with one another? [Shinde Island, Botswana].
Some of the Redbilled Quelea flock resting and waiting for the others.(see previous captions). Because these birds are grain eaters, they are the scourge of the grain farmers. Huge flocks, like the one above (which was 20 feet long, and 10 feet high and deep) must have contained 5000 birds. It could devastate a crop. Nevertheless, I was awed by the scene of all these birds circling in a tight formation without bumping into one another, and by the organized process of their waiting while small groups went down to drink. How was that organized? How was it decided which small group would drink? [Shinde Isl., Botswana].
Redbilled Quelea: [Please see previous captions] A close-up of 2 of these small, sparrow-sized birds [Shinde Island., Botswana].
Portrait of one of the Redbilled Quelea flock. (Please see captions of previous images). {Shinde Island, Botswana].