Mystery…solved

Mystery bird 2

The other day I noticed some unfamiliar big birds feeding at the very back of our property. They were bigger than pheasants, big and round, and didn’t look like they were designed to fly. The little flock of seven was skittish, running this way and that, working their way closer and closer to our house. I grabbed my camera.

Mystery bird 1

I consulted three different bird books. Though they were roughly the size of grouse nothing about them matched.

If you haven’t guessed already, they are guinea fowl, domestic birds. And we learned that it’s not uncommon for people around here to buy them as cute little chicks and then eventually tire of them and release them in the recreation area not far from our house. Though this practice may be relatively common we haven’t seen these birds before. Not surprisingly the local coyotes find them easy pickings.

8 thoughts on “Mystery…solved”

  1. Very interesting! They’re kinda cute with their rotund polk-dotted bodies. So unfortunate that people release them into the wild after they’re no longer cute little chicks. Glad you grabbed your camera to share what these guinea fowl look like.

  2. Aha! I thought they were wild turkeys. As you can tell, I’m not up on my birds. I’m for the birds, but not up on them! Kinda cute, though.

  3. I love these silly birds. Often people keep them for “watch dogs” as they will set up a screeching if someone intrudes. They are funky – but with very pretty feathers. So sad that people leave them to fend for themselves. Great photos!

  4. I recognized them immediately as guinea fowl. My daughter has a “curiosity” (i.e., a flock) of guinea fowl on her farmette in South Africa.

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