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.
