Bleeding of the Coronated Guineajowl. 35


BREEDING OF THE CORONATED GUINEAFOWL.


Gutter a puckeruni.


By Gerard H. Gurney, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


My pair of Coronated Guineafowls (G. pucherani ), which I

caught and brought home with me from British East Africa in

190S, have nested and reared young this year for the first time.

For some time they have had their entire liberty, wandering

about where they choose and roosting 011 the topmost boughs of

a tall fir tree, but they are naturally delicate birds and in the

winter are run into a dry shed at night, though generally out

during the day; they fly down into an enclosure to be fed, and

the nest was made in this enclosure, amongst long grass, under a

large rhubarb bush, the first egg being laid on June 2nd. The

nest was a slightly hollowed out “ scrape” in the ground, with a

few pieces of bent grass in it, but was entirely hidden from prying

eyes by large rhubarb leaves hanging over it. Eleven eggs were

laid, generally one each morning, they very much resemble a

Domestic Guineafowl’s egg, but are smaller, paler in colour, and

not so much spotted, neither is the shell so hard. The eggs were

taken and placed under a hen, the first one hatching on July 14th,

another the following day, the remaining nine eggs were un¬

fertile. Only one of the chicks lived, the second one dying two

days after it had hatched. The survivor, when four days old,

was a beautiful little thing, covered with rich red-brown fluff, the

head striped with dark brown and white, underparts lightish.


From the first we fed it almost entirely on fresh ants’ eggs,

on which it appeared to thrive, eating an enormous quantity

every day. When only twelve days old it had developed its wing

feathers to an extraordinary degree and was able to fly easily

over a wall eight feet high ; it presented a most comical appear¬

ance at this time, the feathers only just beginning to appear on

its breast and neck, its wings looking far too large and developed

for its tiny body and a ridiculous little sprouting tail, sticking

straight up behind. It grew rapidly during the glorious hot

weather we had in August and spent most of its time catching

small insects amongst the long grass in its enclosure.


When a month old the blue feathers began to appear and

the bare skin 011 the neck became more distinct, though it was of



