Tufted guineafowl, Crowned guineafowl
The Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida. It is native to Africa and has been widely introduced, as a domesticated species, into the West Indies, North America, Australia, and Europe.
The Helmeted guineafowl is a large bird with a round body and a small head. Its body plumage is gray-black spangled with white. The head is unfeathered and decorated with a dull yellow or reddish bony knob, and bare skin with red, blue, or black hues. The wings are short and rounded, and the tail is likewise short.
Helmeted guineafowl are native to Africa and are found mainly in the south of the Sahara. They are sedentary and breed in warm, fairly dry, and open habitats with scattered shrubs and trees such as savanna or farmland.
Helmeted guineafowl are gregarious; they form flocks outside the breeding season typically of about 25 birds that also roost communally. These birds are terrestrial and prefer to run rather than fly when alarmed. They have a short-lived explosive flight and rely on gliding to cover extended distances. Helmeted guineafowl can walk 10 km (6 miles) and more in a day and are great runners. They make loud harsh calls when disturbed. Helmeted guineafowl are diurnal and their day starts with the trip to a water hole and then the flock is off to feed. Guineafowl have strong claws and scratch in loose soil for food much like domestic chickens, although they seldom uproot growing plants in so doing. During the midday heat, birds rest in shades and may have a dust bath.
Helmeted guineafowl are omnivores. Their diet consists of a variety of animal and plant food; these birds eat seeds, fruits, greens, snails, spiders, worms and insects, frogs, lizards, small snakes, and small mammals.
Helmeted guineafowl are monogamous and mate for life. During the breeding season, males often show aggression towards each other and will partake in aggressive fighting which may leave other males bloodied and otherwise injured. They will attempt to make themselves look more fearsome by raising their wings upwards from their sides and bristling their feathers across the length of the body, and they may also rush towards their opponent with a gaping beak. The nest is a well-hidden, generally unlined scrape. The female lays a clutch of 6 to 12 eggs which she incubates for 26-28 days. The chicks, called keets are precocial at hatching and are able to leave the nest within a few hours and forage for themselves. The young fledge around 10-14 days after hatching but usually stay with their parents for 50-75 days before becoming independent. They become reproductively mature at 2 years of age.
Helmeted guineafowl are not threatened globally. However, these birds suffer from habitat loss, hunting for food and persecution from farmers. Domestic dogs and cats are also responsible for declines in this species numbers.
According to the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) resource, the total population size of the Helmeted guineafowl is over 1,000,000 birds. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today remain stable.
Helmeted guineafowl are often domesticated, and it is this species that is sold in Western supermarkets. Feral populations descended from domestic flocks are now widely distributed and occur in the West Indies, North America, Australia and Europe.
