Guinea Fowl
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Guinea Fowl. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
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. GUINEA, GULF OF, that portion of Atlantic which washes the shores of the Upper Guinea, between Cape Palmas and Cape Lopez, and including the bights of Bein and Biafra. The islands of Fernando Po, Prince's, and St. Thomas are within this gulf.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an African grouse well known in domestication. Also called guinea hen and pintado. The common species has an exceedingly plump, high-arched body as large as that of a hen. Its plumage is slate-colored and is covered with round white spots. It has large wattles and a naked head surmounted by a calloused crest. It is still common in many parts of Africa, feeding in flocks. The Romans prized the flesh and eggs of the guinea fowl and gave it a name embodying the pretty notion that its spots represented the tears of sisters shed for the death of an only brother. Many American housewives have kept a few of these birds about the barnyard from a notion that their harsh screech frightens the chicken hawk away. The tyrannical disposition of the male is a source of so much disturbance that the guinea fowl is not a favorite with poultry raisers. The scarcity of genuine game birds, however, has led in city restaurants to the substitution of guinea fowl for them. See Grouse