Summaries of quelea movements, based on recoveries in the database of the South African bird-ringing scheme (SAFRING) are presented. By 1999, the database included details of 510 recoveries of Red-billed Quelea, with recovery rates for quelea ringed as adults or juveniles unchanged since the 1960s (0.24% in 1966; 0.29% in 1980; 0.25% in 1995). Inclusion of 'non-significant' recoveries (birds caught again within a few days of ringing) increased the overall rate to 0.38%. Short-term movements were examined by analysing the average and median distances, for each month, of recoveries with elapsed times of less than 6 months. Data on movements according to the month of recovery are presented in maps. The longest movement (2545 km) for a quelea in SAFRING's database was by a bird recovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in November 1998. Four other birds (adults and immatures) were ringed in South Africa and recovered in foreign countries more than 1000 km distant. The results are discussed in relation to prevailing meteorological conditions in southern Africa and the short-comings inherent in analyses of ringing recovery data.