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 and wing coverts and flight feathers have buff margins. At an age of about five months they moult again and their plumage starts to look like that of breeding adults, with a pinkish-purple bill. Different subspecies are distinguished by different colour patterns of the male breeding plumage. In the typical subspecies, "Q. quelea quelea", breeding males have a buff crown, nape and underparts and the black mask extends high up the forehead. In " Q. quelea lathamii" the mask also extends high up the forehead, but the underparts are mainly white. In "Q. quelea aethiopica" the mask does not extend