GUINEA FOWL.— Numida meled/jris. 



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. 



Both in the wild and the captive state the Guinea Fowl is wary and suspicious, and 

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

 to the farmer. Sometimes when the breeding season approaclies, the female Pintado will 

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

 subsequent appearance with a brood of young round hel\ The number of eggs is rather 

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

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

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

 some little exertion to open properly. 



Every one knows the curious, almost articulate cry of the Guinea Fowd, its " Come- 

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

 affording a clue to its presence. Tliis 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 desirable inmate, partly on account of its wandering haliits, 

 sometimes extending over a mile or two of the surrounding country, and partly because it 

 is so pugnacious, quarrelling with the fowls and pecking them sharply with its hard beak. 

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

 profitable bird if well watched. 



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



