ORDER GALLINE. 
Fam. PHASIANIDE. 
560. Noumipa coronata, Hartl. Crowned Guinea Fowl. 
Numida mitrata, Layard, B. 8. Afr. p. 266. 
This species extends over the whole of the frontier districts, into 
Mossamedes on the West, and to the Mocambic on the Hast. It is 
still abundant in some places within the colony, where the mimosa 
bush affords it sufficient shelter. It feeds on grain and insects, and 
lays from seven to ten eggs, rather sharply pointed at the small and 
rounded at the obtuse end, of a dark cream colour, minutely dotted 
all over with pin-point spots of brown: axis, 2’ 1”; diameter, 
eh op 
In reply to some queries of ours, as to whether our friend Mrs. 
Barber had ever seen a wild bird with white quill-feathers, she 
writes :—“ With regard to Guinea-fowl. They are still very 
numerous in several partially-wooded districts of the Hastern 
Province, but more especially in the valley of the Great Fish River, 
which is their stronghold, and I have been accustomed to see them 
occasionally all my life; but I have never seen a wild one with 
white feathers in its wings. It is contrary to the laws of natural 
selection (in which I am a believer) for nature to produce any form 
that is useless or hurtful to her, such as white wing-feathers would 
be to wild Guinea-fowls, for they would at once point out to wild- 
cats, owls, hawks, and sportsmen, the direction in which the bird 
had flown or run (for in crossing all rough places they open their 
wings while running); and I am inclined to think that if they 
do occur in any part of the colony with white wings, it is when 
they have accidentally been crossed with the tame, white-breasted 
Guinea-fowl, that is so common (especially amongst the Dutch 
colonists) nearly all over the colony. Our wild ones are easily 
tamed, and you frequently see both sorts together upon farmers’ 
homesteads on the frontier. Our South African species is altogether 
a much handsomer and larger bird than the tame, white-breasted 
