GUINEA FOWL.— Numida meMgris. 



motion. On the ground the Guinea Fowl is a very swift bird, as is well known to those 

 who have tried to catch it in an open field. 



I'otli in tlie wild nnd the captive state the Guinea Fowl is waiy and suspicious, and 

 particularly careful not to betray the position of its nest, thus often giving great trouble 

 to the fanner. Sometimes when the breeding season apjjroaches, the female Pintado wiU 

 hide herself and nest so effectually that the only indication of her proceedings is her 

 subsequent appearance with a brood of young round her. The number of eggs is rather 

 large, being seldom below ten and often double that number. Tlieir colour is yellowish- 

 red, covered with very little dark spots, and their size is less than tliat of tlie common 

 fowl. Tlieir shells are extremely hard and thick, and when boiled for the table require 

 some little exertion to open properly. 



Every one knows the ciirious, almost articixlate cry of the Guinea Fowl, its " Come- 

 back ! come-back!" being continually uttered wherever the bird is kept, and often 

 affording a clue to its presence. This bird has been imported into America and several of 

 the West Indian islands, where it has entirely acclimatized itself, and has increased so 

 much in numbers as to be reckoned among the game birds and shot accordingly. In the 

 poultry-yard it is not always a deshable inmate, partly on account of its wandering habits, 

 sometimes extending over a mile or two of tlie surrDundins country, and partly Ijecause it 

 is so piTgnacious, cpiarrelling with the fowls and pecking them sharply with its hard beak. 

 StUl, as its flesh when young is very good, and the cost of its keep very trifling, it is a 

 profitable bii'd if well watched. 



The forehead of the Guinea Fowl is surmounted with a horny casque, and the naked 



