GAME BIRDS n 



It is seldom found far from water, and, though partial 

 to feeding in the open in the evenings and early mornings, 

 during the heat of the day shelters itself in thick bush 

 and long grass. Through the winter months these 

 birds are seen associated in enormous flocks, and at 

 this time frequent the neighbourhood of native villages, 

 where they pick about among the lands for insects and 

 grain. At night they roost in trees and thick bushes, fre- 

 quently those overhanging water. The pairing time comes 

 with the first rains, and thenceforth the birds are only 

 found in couples in the densest bush, and entirely desert 

 the neighbourhood of human habitations. In my expe- 

 rience, therefore, they do practically no harm to summer 

 crops, and I think the occasional agitation against them 

 on that account is founded on an entire misconception 

 of their nature and habits. About March or early April, 

 in the eastern Transvaal, the parent birds lead forth 

 their broods, and the flocks once more begin to assemble. 

 In spring the colours on the bare skin of the head and 

 neck become much brighter in the cock birds. From 

 seven to ten eggs are laid in a clutch, and the spot is so 

 well chosen that the nest, a small scraped-out depression 

 amidst long grass and thick bush, is most difficult to 

 locate. 



Their food consists of seeds, bulbs, grass, and other 

 roots, and insects ; they do an enormous amount of 

 good in destroying locusts and their eggs, quartering 

 the ground for the latter when they discover the breeding- 

 ground. 



Guinea-fowls drink, in the winter, just at sundown, 

 but in hot weather often at sunrise also, and I have 

 seen a flock come down to the water at 3 P.M. in 

 September. They are very early risers, and at grey 

 dawn they may be seen briskly moving over their feeding- 



