Black Guineafowl
Agelastes niger
The Black Guineafowl (Agelastes niger) is a legendary guineafowl found in 5 countries, weighing about 700 g. The black guinea fowl is a terrestrial bird of the Numididae family found in humid forests in West-Central Africa.
About the Black Guineafowl
The black guinea fowl is a terrestrial bird of the Numididae family found in humid forests in West-Central Africa. It is a medium-sized, black galliforme bird with a bare, orange-pink head and upper neck. As it inhabits dense, potentially inaccessible, regions of equatorial African jungle, little is known of black guinea fowl behaviour or habits. By all accounts, it is a more reclusive, secretive bird when compared to the other, more sociable guinea fowl species; i.e., researchers have been able to successfully observe and document far more information on the confident, gregarious and open grassland-dwelling helmeted guinea fowl, or even the more exotic vulturine guinea fowl. Compared to…
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The head and upper neck of an adult black guinea fowl are unfeathered, revealing the pink skin. A crest of short downy feathers is on the forehead and crown, and the throat and lower neck have a scattering of downy feathers. The body and tail feathers are black with some paler speckled markings on the belly. Males have one to three spurs on their legs, while females either have none or a single short spur. Juveniles are similar, but have buff tips to the feathers on their upper parts, a speckled breast, and white belly. The beak is greenish grey and the legs greyish brown.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Congo - Kinshasa.
When to see it
Best months: March, April, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in March. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Black Guineafowl?
- The head and upper neck of an adult black guinea fowl are unfeathered, revealing the pink skin. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Black Guineafowl?
- The Black Guineafowl is a large sized bird weighing about 700 g.
- Where can you see a Black Guineafowl?
- The Black Guineafowl occurs in 5 countries, including Gabon, Cameroon, Congo - Brazzaville and the Central African Republic.
- What birds look similar to a Black Guineafowl?
- The Black Guineafowl is most easily confused with the White-breasted Guineafowl.
- Is the Black Guineafowl endangered?
- The Black Guineafowl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Black Guineafowl for real
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