Red-headed Quelea vs small tortoiseshell

Quelea erythrops compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Red-headed Quelea is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Red-headed Quelea	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Ploceidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Quelea	Aglais
Species	Quelea erythrops	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Red-headed Quelea and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Red-headed Quelea

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Red-headed Quelea	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Red-headed Quelea

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Asia (United Arab Emirates) and Europe (7 countries).

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Red-headed Quelea

Red-headed Quelea (Quelea erythrops) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇧 United Kingdom