Guinea Fowl
a genus of African birds in the pheasant family. The plumage is dark gray, with round spots of white, generally larger on the back and under the surface. Some species are adorned on the head with a helmet or horny casque, while others have fleshy wattles on the cheeks and a tuft or top-knot on the crown. The genus is represented by nine species, in the Ethiopian region-E. to Madagascar, S. to Natal. The best known is the common guinea fowl or pintado (N. meleagris), also popularly known as "Comeback," from its cry, with naked head, and slate-colored plumage, everywhere speckled with round white spots of various sizes. It is common in Guinea and S. to the Cape of Good Hope. It is found also in more N. parts of Africa, and was known to the ancient Romans, by whom it was called Meleagris and Gallina Numidica, and highly prized. In their wild state the birds occur in flocks, sometimes of 50 to 60. They are not so polygamous as many of the gallinaceous birds, and even in domestication show a tendency to pair. The guinea fowl is now common in the poultry yards of most parts of the world.