THE helmeted guineafowl is a very common game bird over most of South Africa.

Also read: Amanzimtoti hadeda in distress, needs urgent help

They like open grassland, vleis (marsh), savanna, cultivated lands, the edge of scrub land and bushveld regions.

They are highly gregarious, especially when not breeding with flocks numbering several hundred birds. They forage on open ground, scratching for food with their feet and bill. A wide range of food is eaten from seeds, bulbs, tubers, berries, insects, snails, millipedes and fallen grain in winter.

They run fast when disturbed and fly well, taking to the trees, uttering a cackling alarm note. They also have a soft “kek” contact call during the day, but are noisy at dusk and dawn, making a raucous “kek – ek – ek- kaaaaa” call.

Breeding takes place from October to April. The nest is a scrape on the ground lined with dry grass, usually in a dense cover of grass or bush. A clutch of six to 19 eggs is laid, usually by two females sharing a nest. The eggs are creamy white to light yellowish brown. Incubation is between 24 and 30 days, with fledglings taking four weeks to leave the nest.

The isiZulu name is impangele and in Afrikaans die gewone tarentaal.

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.