Quelea

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, prolific African bird known for forming large flocks that can cause significant damage to grain crops
2. A tiny species native to Africa characterized by gathering in vast numbers and feeding heavily on cultivated seeds
3. An avian creature from the African continent noted for its enormous groups and frequent presence in agricultural areas where it consumes grains

Etymology: Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish taxonomist who gave modern scientific names to thousands of species, is the person behind this word. He assigned the name "quelea" to the red-billed quelea, a tiny seed-eating weaver bird of sub-Saharan Africa, and the name stuck as the genus name for these birds. The source of the name is uncertain. It is possibly connected to Late Latin "qualea", meaning "quail", which fits a small, ground-feeding bird that gathers in numbers. Linnaeus drew on Latin for his coinages, so a classical-sounding name was his habit, but the exact route from that Latin word to his choice is not clearly documented. The bird's reputation comes from its flocks. Quelea gather in colonies of many thousands, and a single flock can strip a field of ripening grain in a short time, which is why farmers across Africa regard them as among the continent's most destructive birds.

Synonyms: red-billed quelea, weaver bird