Red-billed quelea collected from under large roosts in Nigeria and used as a fertiliser. Tourists like to watch the large flocks of queleas, such as during visits of the Kruger National Park. The birds themselves eat pest insects such as migratory locusts, and the moth species "Helicoverpa armigera" and "Spodoptera exempta". The animal's large distribution and population resulted in a conservation status listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. The red-billed quelea is sometimes kept and bred in captivity by hobbyists. It thrives if kept in large and high cages, with space to fly to minimise the risk of obesity.
Red-billed quelea Sometimes called "Africa's feathered locust", the red-billed quelea is considered a serious agricultural pest in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, they eat wheat in the dry season, rice in the early rainy season, and sorghum/millet in the rainy season. An individual red-billed quelea eats around of grain in a day, hence a flock of 2 million individuals—not an unusual size—can consume of grain in a day, or in a month. Their wide range, enormous population and fecundity make control difficult. Traditional methods to protect crops are mainly used in subsistence farming. When the crop is vulnerable, people go into the fields,