Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An African weaverbird of the genus Quelea, especially Q. quelea, a small red-billed bird that is extremely destructive to grain crops.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The crimson-beaked weaver-bird of Africa.
- n. [capitalized] [NL. (Reichenbach, 1850).] A genus of African weaver-birds or Ploceidæ, containing such species as the above, Q. sanguinirostris.
Etymologies
- New Latin Quelea, genus name, perhaps alteration of Medieval Latin qualea, quail, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *coacula, of imitative origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“These grain-devouring pests (usually called quelea) like to roost together in the tall grass after a day in the fields.”
“Irrigation projects may also encourage pesticide use to control insects and other pests such as the red-billed quelea or dioch (Quelea quelea).”
“The Herald said an invasion of quelea birds, a local pest that destroys wheat when it is nearly ready for harvesting, had also compromised wheat yields.”
“Desperately-needed wheat crops in central Zimbabwe are being ravaged by a plague of quelea birds, national radio reported”
“Earlier this year, quelea birds invaded some areas and affected harvests.”
“Finger millet is subject to bird predators - notably to the notorious quelea (see Appendix A).”
“These birds include the quelea - a small, rather nondescript weaverbird that has replaced the locust as the most serious pest of small-grain crops in parts of Africa.”
“And if it can be brought to perfection, it might transform the production of cereals throughout the quelea combat zone.”
“The most numerous and most destructive bird on earth, the seed-eating quelea (Quelea quelea) can descend on a farm in such numbers as to consume the entire grain crop in a matter of hours.”
“In isolated locations (and on sites quelea should find irresistible), they planted plots of napier grass and shaped them with slightly narrowed waists where the barriers and traps could be easily erected.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quelea’.
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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phrontistery - q
from phrontistery.info
qanat, qasida, qat, qigong, qintar, qiviut, qoph, qua, quab, quackle, quacksalver, quad and 227 more...
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Still More Bird Wirds
A work in progress....Birds from around the world (other than endemic to North America).
barbet, hornbill, trogon, bee-eater, bristlehead, wren-babbler, stubtail, blackeye, bush warbler, cassowary, bowerbird, bird-of-paradise and 722 more...
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Avenue Q
quockerwodger, quackle, quacksalver, quango, quaternion, quetzalcoatl, questpersand, quagga, quipo, quatrayle, quill pig, quimby and 16 more...
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spelling bee
quelea, syzygy, ipilipil, logodaedaly, hoomalimali, inficete, leucocholy, meshummad, rhipidate, tritor
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quelea.
sionnach any of several African weaverbirds of the genus Quelea, esp. Q. quelea (red-billed quelea), noted for its vast flocks that destroy grain crops. Oct 19, 2008