Crimped guinea fowl

Crimped guinea fowl

We are delighted that Corinna Orellana has taken on the sponsorship of the ruffed guinea fowl
(Guttera pucherani).

Despite the bushy black crown of feathers, the often strikingly coloured head and the deep red eyes - at least in some of the five subspecies - the ruffed grouse is rarely seen in the wild due to its shy nature. In parts of West, Central and East Africa as far as south-eastern regions, these representatives of the Numididae family, which is only native to Africa, prefer to live in forest-savannah mosaics, gallery forests and forest edges. Sometimes, however, they can also be found in the denser primary rainforests.

The omnivores' diet includes everything from seeds, fruits, leaves and seedlings to animal food such as insect larvae, ants and termites, spiders and small snails. As a rule, the hens find their food on the ground, where they scrape through the leaf litter with their large black feet. However, they also like to follow groups of smaller monkeys, such as guenons, which for their part forage in the trees and often drop the odd fruit. The daily migrations of the ruffed guinea fowl can cover considerable distances.