The application of radiotelemetry for locating and controlling concentrations of red‐billed quelea in Africa

Abstract Radio transmitters weighing 1.8 g were attached to red‐billed quelea (Quelea quelea (L.)) in southwestern Ethiopia during May and June 1981 to determine the feasibility of this technique for rapidly locating nesting colonies and following local movements. Queleas are probably the smallest birds to which external radio transmitters have been successfully attached. Radio‐equipped birds were tracked to four nesting colonies, three of which were in the nest construction stage which occurs during the first three days of colony establishment. This early stage is not normally found using conventional survey methods. Adults usually foraged within 3 km of the colony at the nestling and fledgling stages, indicating that surveys must pass within this distance if the colony is to be located by conventional techniques. The study showed that quelea nesting colonies could be more easily and inexpensively located in remote areas using radiotelemetry than by using only ground or aerial surveys. The early detectio...