What is it about the Helmeted Guinea Fowl,
(Numida meleagris) that is so appealing? Paintings (I have one), carvings (I
have one), knitted toys, table mats, table cloths (I have one), they lend
themselves so beautifully to art and craft.
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| Such characters! |
When we first moved here to Jacobsbaai, we could
hear them calling from a distance, well, you would have to be deaf not to hear
their raucous shouting, but we rarely saw them in the village.
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| Basil with his retinue. |
That has recently all changed. For the last
several months, drinking our coffee in bed every morning while we decide how to
while away the day, Rob and I watch them scratching and shouting and chasing on
the vacant land over the road from us. Basil has a fascination with them, and
sits close by watching them while they chase and squabble and kick the dirt
around looking for things to eat. They seem to find him equally fascinating and
often go quite close to him. I guess they work on the 'safety-in-numbers' idea,
as there are sometimes twenty odd birds.
Basil then realises that there are a
lot more of them than of him and heads quickly for home and safety looking like
the Pied Piper as they follow him to the road. He then hops over the wall and they
carry on walking into our neighbours drive, where they have a meal of crushed
mealies and a drink of water, before heading back the way they came!
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| On their way to Emma's house. |
They behave much like a chicken, with a backwards
scratch and kick followed by a sideways shuffle while they look to see what
they have uncovered. Being omnivorous, they eat a wide variety of food, and
will happily devour seeds, insects, roots, snails (I wonder if they know that),
reptiles, grain, fruit and flowers, and although they are not endangered, they
could have a problem with gardeners after they have uprooted half the garden in
their search for breakfast!
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| Guineas with young (Pic thanks to Google) |
They prefer open, dry grassland with scrubby
bushes, which sums up our desperate-for-rain countryside at the moment,
although they are also happy to visit agricultural areas and urban gardens! (Hence
the ‘endangered’ threat!)
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| The blue heads are clearly visible. (Pic thanks to Google) |
Interestingly enough, unlike chickens, Guinea
Fowls are monogamous and the males may fight to the death to impress the
females. Not much point in that though, what good is a dead hero!
Another interesting fact is that they are the
most widespread game bird in Africa and are now bred for the market in many parts
of the world. Aha, I thought, I wonder how to cook them. So, I Googled recipes
for Guinea Fowl and found that every well-known chef from Gordon Ramsay to
Delia to Jamie Oliver, (and a few obscure chefs too), has a mouthwatering recipe using a list of ingredients
from berries to brandy.
Rob has a theory that they should be cooked with
a stone.
When the stone is soft, the bird is done!
For myself, I think I shall stick to chicken!
2 comments:
That makes me ponder - where is our painting (original) of guinea fowl! Our local flock (must find the name for a flock, perhaps a bevy?) of guinea fowl hasn't been seen for ages, perhaps people have been reading the recipe books, I sincerely hope not!!
I don't remember your painting..........not surprising as I sometimes don't remember who I am these days!!
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