GUINEA-FOWL SHOOTING 77 



'pucJierani), both very dark birds, carrying bluish and 

 not white spots, and having black, feathered crests. 

 It is, perhaps, worthy of note that the Zambesi 

 natives — Barutse, Mashukulumbwe, Batoka, and 

 others — who affect bows and arrows a good deal, 

 make constant use of the blue-spotted plumage of 

 this last guinea-fowl for feathering their arrows. You 

 will hardly ever see arrows from this region upon 

 which these guinea-fowl feathers are not employed. 

 I have in my possession some fine Mashukulumbwe 

 arrows, all carrying the notable blue-spotted feathers 

 of Pucheran's guinea-fowl. These tribes make and 

 use very excellent bows and arrows. The bows are 

 long, strong, and powerful; the arrows long, well- 

 feathered, and with the heads (of native iron) beauti- 

 fully and curiously barbed. 



In other parts are to be found the curious 

 Vulturine guinea-fowl (Eastern Africa), the Abys- 

 sinian guinea-fowl, and Kendall's guinea-fowl from 

 West Africa. Madagascar produces the mitred 

 guinea-fowl (Momida mitrata). These birds, how- 

 ever, interesting though they are, hardly come within 

 the scope of this chapter. How is it, I wonder, that 

 the guinea-fowl in a state of domestication is so 

 prone to throw out white feathering upon the breast 

 and wings ? Even with the tame guinea-fowl, so 

 often seen among Dutch farmers in Cape Colony, 

 this is the case. Yet in the wild guinea-fowl one 



