From Africa to Australia - the Guinea Fowl

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On the outskirts of a small country town in Western Australia, we came across a small flock of guinea fowl crossing the road. They weren't in a hurry to cross and Vin had to brake quite hard to avoid hitting the last one. We had guinea fowl on the farm when I was a child. They weren't very common then but Mum was always keen to have some of the more unusual types of fowl. We also had some peafowl. They are often found on vineyards in this area where they earn their keep by keeping insects and locusts under control. Guinea fowl are endemic to Africa and there are several species. I think those in the photo are helmeted guinea fowl. As you can see from the photo, the plumage is quite dark with dense white spots. The ones on the farm were great watch-dogs and we came to rely on them to let us know if anything untoward was happening. The meat is dark with a gamey flavour and it is drier and leaner than chicken flesh with roughly half the fat. The eggs are much richer than chicken eggs. In their native Africa, guinea fowl travel behind herd animals and/or beneath troops of monkeys. They play an important role in controlling such insects as ticks, flies, locusts and other invertebrates. They also eat seeds. I just think they are very pretty with their eye-catching plumage.