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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
vulturine
guineafowl |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Galliformes
[pheasants, partridges, turkeys, quail, and guineafowl] |
| FAMILY: |
Numididae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Acryllium
(small peak) vultrinum (vulture-like); first
described by Hardwicke in 1834 |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Primarily bright blue body with black and white
streaks and small white dots on the back feathers.
They have a "horny" helmet on top of their
naked heads. The head region is bright with blue,
red, and yellow. The eyes are red and the beak is
short and black. There is a band of tiny brown feathers
on the back of its head. Species does not exhibit
noticeable sexual dimorphism. |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| SIZE: |
Adults
are between 50.8 cm (20 in.) - 52.8 cm (24 in.) |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| WEIGHT: |
text |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| DIET: |
Seeds,
roots, tubers, grubs, rodents, small reptiles, and
crawling insects, occasionally vegetation and fruits |
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| INCUBATION: |
28
days; chicks are precocial and have gold and brown-striped
down plumage |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
3-18
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
10
weeks |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
2
years |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
15
years |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| RANGE: |
Eastern
tropical Africa; can be found in the countries of
Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, E. Uganda, and N.E. Tanzania |
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| HABITAT: |
Dry
desert areas with tall grass, patches of scrub,
thorn bushes, and a few trees. These birds seem
to prefer high perches for nocturnal roosting. |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Exact
population numbers are unknown, however, they have
been seen moving commonly in groups of 25 to 30.
There are also documented reports of groups in excess
of 70 individuals. |
| LOCAL |
text |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
text |
| CITES |
Not
listed by USFWS or CITES |
| USFWS |
Not
listed by USFWS or CITES |
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| 1. |
There
are seven different species of guineafowl. |
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| 2. |
The vulturine guineafowl is often referred to as
the "royal guineafowl" because it tends
to have the most striking appearance. |
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| 3. |
They are named for their bald head and neck, which
resembles a vulture. |
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| 4. |
Guineafowl
are both monomorphic and monochromatic meaning that
both sexes have a very similar form and coloration.
In other words, it can be difficult to distinguish
the sexes. |
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| 5. |
Captive
hens have produced up to 40 eggs in just one season
(3 clutches). |
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| 6. |
The
eggshells of this species are extremely thick and
difficult to break. Chicks hatch by "breaking
out" instead of chipping away at the shell. |
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| 7. |
These
birds are excellent runners and rarely fly, with
exception of reaching nocturnal roosting perches. |
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| 8. |
The
chicks are well-developed when they hatch and can
fly within a few days. |
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| 9. |
These
birds roost high in trees at night. Their calls,
when disturbed or excited, can be heard over long
distances. |
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| 10. |
Nests
may contain eggs from more than one hen; hens may
share incubation duties. |
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| 11. |
These
birds can be quite aggressive and have been known
to fatally injure their own kind if competition
for food or prime roosting areas comes into question.
Even the chicks have been known to attack one another. |
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| 12. |
Males
tend to be very aggressive towards the hens most
of the time. One effective way to distinguish the
sexes is by observing each individual's body posture.
The males tend to carry their heads high and attempt
to look as big as possible. Females, on the other
hand, tend to adopt a submissive posture. |
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| 13. |
These
birds can survive long periods without water and
tend to acquire the majority of their water requirements
from the vegetation that they consume. |
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| |
|
|
| Delacour,
J. The Pheasants of the World. 2nd ed. World
Pheasant Association and Spur Publications, Hindhead,
U.K., 1977. |
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Gotch, A.F. Birds-Their Latin Names Explained.
Poole, Dorst: Blandford Press, 1981. |
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Perrins, Dr. Christopher M. The Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Reference
to Birds of the World. New York: Prentice
Hall Press, 1990.
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| http://www.honoluluzoo.org/Palawan_Peacock_Pheasant.htm |
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| http://www.zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/peacock/ppp.htm |
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| http://www.guineas.com/vulture/html:
Hayes, Leland B., Ph.D. How I raise Vulturine
Guineafowl |
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