Phil Bendle Collection:Guineafowl (Helmeted) Numida meleagris

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Numididae
Genus: Numida
Species: N. meleagris
Binomial name: Numida meleagris
Common name: Helmeted Guineafowl

Numida meleagris is the best known of the guinea fowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida. It is native to Africa and has been widely introduced throughout the world. It is large (53–58 cm) bird with a round body and small head. They weigh about 1.3 kg. The body plumage is grey-black spangled with white. Like other guinea fowl, this species has an unfeathered head, in this case, decorated with a dull yellow or reddish bony knob, and red and blue patches of skin. The wings are short and rounded, and the tail is also short. There are various subspecies whose differences in appearance are mostly a variation of shape, size and colour of the casque (helmet-like structure) and facial wattles.

For more details on this species visit: http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/helmeted-guineafowl 

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Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information     https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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