Guinea fowl

“ Guinea-fowl, like bush fowl, are often seen roosting in trees. Indeed, with the former, it is more usual to find them sitting in trees than on the ground. A guinea-fowl is perhaps the most wary of West African game birds. He has very keen eyesight and hearing. He will generally have discovered your presence long before you are aware of his, and in that case he takes alarm and is off immediately. Guinea-fowl run far more frequently than they fly. Once they have taken to their heels they are extremely difficult to overtake ”

“ Most of the guinea fowls marketed in this country are put into cold storage and sent to England. They also bring a good price in city markets in this country.
Farm boys and girls all over the country are familiar with the strident squawk and the furtive, hunching trot of the speckled guinea fowl. I doubt if any farmer could tell why he harbours one on the premises, unless it is to warn his chickens of the presence of danger. I know of very few people in the North who eat either eggs or birds (if they know it) , and the young are very seldom seen. ”

“ The Guinea-fowl is about twenty-two inches long, and from standing high on its legs, and having loose, full plumage, appears to be larger than it really is, for when plucked it does not weigh more than an ordinary Dorking. It is very plump and well-proportioned. The Guinea-fowl is not bred so much as the turkey in England or France, is very rare in the northern parts of Europe, and in India is bred almost exclusively by Europeans, although it thrives as well there as in its native country. ”

“ On its head, like the Guinea-fowl, it has a horny protuberance of a reddish color. It dwells chiefly in trees. Its chuckle is heard at nightfall; and people, imagining that the noise proceeds from one of their own domestic fowls that has strayed, hasten to drive it home. But this frequently causes their destruction; for, as soon as the cockatrice perceives its victim within reach, it darts at it with the speed of lightning; and if its fangs enter the flesh, death invariably ensues. ”

“ Yet the bird and its eggs bring good prices in the market.
The climate of Jamaica is just right for the Guinea-fowl and in that island it has made itself at home, taking to the woods and to a wild life. There it has become fond of feeding on the growing crops and is hunted and shot like a game bird.
The special fact about this bird rests in its color, it being prettily speckled with round white spots on a dark gray color of plumage. There are several species, the best known being the common [199] guinea, which is often called "come-back" from its call. ”

“ The newly-hatched Guinea fowl is a tiny creature, and its growth is, consequently, very rapid, requiring incessant supplies. A check once received can never be recovered. They do not, in such cases, mope and pine for a day or two; like young turkeys under similar circumstances, and then die ”

“ On the continent they are more domesticated and are raised in large numbers for the markets of France, Austria, and Germany. What we want in our markets, however, is not the domesticated Guinea fowl so much as the half-wild. We have plenty of other good barnyard birds, including the savory squab, but we are woefully short of game, and the Guinea fowl, more than the turkey, comes to the rescue. While the mature bird has its own gamy Flavor, the chicks resemble young quail, and the eggs are a good deal like the highly [478] valued plover eggs. ”

“ The flesh and skin of the guinea are quite dark in color. The dressed carcass is not at all attractive in appearance, but the meat is very good. Many people prefer it to the flesh of the fowl.
The guinea is not really a domestic bird. It is possible to keep a few in confinement and to rear the young with other [Pg 204] poultry, but the adult birds are so noisy and vicious that very few people want them near the house or with other poultry. They would not be tolerated as much as they are but for the traditional notion that their noisy clamor keeps hawks away. ”

“ But just as I got rid of the hens the guinea fowl decided that the weather was getting altogether too severe for outdoor life. All summer and fall they have been living in the fields, and any one who happened to see them reported the fact much as if they had seen a flock of quail. They really seem more like wild than domesticated fowl, and if they live entirely on insects and weed seeds they must have a distinct value in keeping pests of various kinds in check. ”

“ I suppose when the water here dries up they migrate to the Niger and its tributaries. I shot a few geese at Niangaye, but duck and teal were very scarce. The surrounding country is well stocked with sand-grouse and lesser bustard, but other varieties of game birds are not plentiful. I think I saw only one bushfowl, and the few guinea-fowl I shot appeared to be very tough. Indeed, I always noticed that the guinea-fowl shot in sandy districts was tough, irrespective of the age of the bird. I often wondered if possibly this was due to the semi-desert diet which they have to live on here. ”

“ The domesticated guinea-fowl is now believed by naturalists to be descended from the Numida ptilorhynca, which inhabits very hot, and, in parts, extremely arid districts in Eastern Africa; consequently it has been exposed in this country to extremely different conditions of life. ”

“ The depressions of the spruits became deeper than we had heretofore seen, and were in some places covered with bushes that were the haunt of the guinea-fowl which are common everywhere, from the southern coast to the further side of the Zambesi.
This breed of wild poultry is undeniably one of the most interesting features of the African bird-world. Hunted perpetually, it is nevertheless ever on the increase. Most frequently it is found in flocks varying from ten to forty in number, in bushy or wooded places near rivers or standing water. ”

“ Besides the flocks of guinea-fowl to which we were accustomed, we saw a hare—the first we had found in the Soudan. Before midday we reached the wells of Fau. The drinking-water here is of a fairly good quality, but not quite free from mud. Guinea-fowl again supplied our dinner. They are slow to rise, but not easy to shoot; for they run in the most nimble fashion among the thick covert, and to come within range, the “guns” have to run too. The sun is strong overhead, the thorns are strong all round, and the exercise is smart work, even for a man in sound condition. ”

“ They do not usually lay or raise their chickens on a farm, but in the forests. The island of Gallinaria, which lies in the Tuscan sea off the coast of Italy, opposite the Ligurian mountains (and the towns of Intermelii and Alba Ingannua) derives its name from them, though some maintain that the name comes from dunghill fowl which were carried to that island by sailors and have there run wild. Guinea fowl (_gallinae africanae_) are large, mottled and have their humps in their backs. The Greeks call them [Greek: meleagrís] . ”

“ But she often contrives to elude all watching, and hatch [141] a brood, frequently at a late period, when the weather is too cold for the chickens. As the Guinea-fowl seldom shows much disposition to incubate if kept under restraint, and frequently sits too late in the season to rear a brood in this country, it is a general practice to place her eggs under a common fowl—Game and Bantams are the best for the purpose. About twenty of the earliest eggs should be set in May. The Guinea-hen will hatch another brood when she feels inclined. ”

“ The guinea-fowl, however, has long been in this condition in Jamaica and St Helena, and the fowl in Hawaii and other Polynesian islands. The pheasant has been naturalized in the United States, New Zealand, Hawaii and St Helena. Its naturalization in western Europe is very ancient, but the race supposed to have been introduced by the Romans (Phasianus colchicus) has been much modified within the last century or two by the introduction of the ring-necked Chinese form (P. torquatus) , which produces fertile hybrids with the old breed. ”

“ The same wise provision of Nature noticed in the case of the Guinea fowl is evinced in a still greater degree in the little pea chickens. Their native jungle—tall, dense, sometimes impervious, swarming with reptile, quadruped, and even insect, enemies—would be a most dangerous habitation for a little tender thing that could merely run and squall. Accordingly, they escape from the egg with their quill-feathers very highly developed. In three days, they will fly up, and perch upon any thing three feet high; in a fortnight, they will roost on trees, or the tops of sheds ”

“ The Guinea fowl may have been the "Afraa avis;"but that was a dear luxury amongst the Romans, though the Greek meleagris was cheap. The last crotchet about it is that of an African traveller, who holds it to be the peacock of Solomon's navies, completely ignoring the absolute certainty which the South-Indian word "Tukkiim" carries with it.
The Mpongwe will not eat ape, on account of its likeness to themselves. But they greatly enjoy game; the porcupine, the ground-hog (an Echymys) , the white flesh of the bush pig (Cricetomys) , and the beef of the Nyáre (Bos brachyceros) ”

“ The Guinea-fowl makes itself too familiar to the settlers by its depredations in the provision-grounds. In the cooler months of the year, they come in numerous coveys from the woods, and scattering themselves in the grounds at early dawn, scratch up the yams and cocoes. A large hole is dug by their vigorous feet in very short time, and the tubers exposed, which are then pecked away, so as to be almost destroyed, and quite spoiled. ”

“ The white is, perhaps, more brilliant than is seen in any other domesticated gallinaceous bird, being much more dazzling than that of the White Guinea Fowl, or the White Pea Fowl. This white variety is in great esteem, having a remarkably neat and lively appearance when rambling about a homestead. They look very clean and attractive when dressed for market; an old bird, cleverly trussed, will be, apparently, as delicate and transparent in skin and flesh as an ordinary chicken. Their feathers are also more salable than those from darker colored fowls. ”

“ Very sensibly, the Anglo-Egyptian Administration imposes a fine on those who shoot the females of the larger antelopes.
I think we must have seen hundreds of thousands of guinea-fowl during the last two days’ journey. They were in the jungle of mimosa scrub and neblik and on the shingle in the river bed, where by reason of their colour they can scarcely be distinguished from the stones; in fact, they swarmed in all directions. I took [186] my gun into the dry course of the Atbara and sat down near an islet which was covered with very dry grass. ”

“ Guinea-fowl I observed in abundance everywhere along the Marico, in parts where the bushes were thick; but I noticed that they never left their roosting-places until the heavy morning dew was dry. The speed at which they ran was quite incredible.
Proceeding on our way we came up with several Bechuana families belonging to the Makhosi tribe, who had been living on Sechele’s territory, near the ruins of Kolobeng; but they had been so much harassed by Sechele that they were now migrating, and about to settle at the foot of the Dwars Mountains. ”

“ And they can bite—or at least use their bills. I have noticed that at feeding time they can whip even the rooster away from the choicest bits, and I am told that when there were young chickens about, the old pair of guinea fowl thought nothing of grabbing them in their beaks and shaking them as a terrier shakes a rat. Sometimes, if they were not interrupted in committing these atrocities they even killed the chickens. I do not think the nature and habits of guinea fowl have been studied by the experts, and some time when the rush is over I may prepare a bulletin on the subject. ”

“ In addition to yams and sweet potatoes, plantains, and perhaps rice, there will be cooked mangrove-oysters fresh from the tree, a fry, or an excellent bouillabaisse of fish; succulent palaver sauce, or palm-oil chop; poultry and meat. The domestic fowl is a favourite; but, curious to say, neither here nor in any part of tropical Africa known to me have the people tamed the only gallinaceous bird which the Black Continent has contributed to civilization. The Guinea fowl, like the African elephant, remains wild. ”

“ As for fowls and turkeys and ducks, they grow fat and heavy, they lay wonderfully, and if anyone gave a little attention to the poultry industry they should coin money. Guinea-fowl will feed themselves, and so will the pea-fowl, the bird that used to be considered—rightly—a dish for a royal banquet. ”

“ On the Vaal and its tributaries the best time for hunting guinea-fowl is about two hours before sundown, when they leave the bushes in the plains to drink, previously to roosting for the night in the trees by the banks. This hour may on an average be taken to be about four o’clock in the afternoon, and as the birds nearly always use the same approach to the river, a sportsman, who has concealed himself hard by, will see a cloud of dust gradually coming nearer to him from the land; this is caused by their repeatedly stopping on the way to scratch up seeds and insects from the sandy soil. ”

“ I can hardly doubt that these rats (like the common mouse, which has also run wild) have been imported, and, as at the Galapagos, have varied from the effect of the new conditions to which they have been exposed: hence the variety on the summit of the island differs from that on the coast. Of native birds there are none; but the guinea-fowl, imported from the Cape de Verd Islands, is abundant, and the common fowl has likewise run wild. Some cats, which were originally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have increased, so as to become a great plague. ”