Black guinea fowl

The black guinea fowl (Agelastes niger) is a terrestrial bird of the Numididae (guinea fowl) family found in humid forests in West-Central Africa. It is a medium-sized, black galliforme bird with a bare, orange-pink head and upper neck. As it inhabits dense, potentially inaccessible, regions of equatorial African jungle, little is known of black guinea fowl behaviour or habits. By all accounts, it is a more reclusive, secretive bird when compared to the other, more sociable guinea fowl species; i.e., researchers have been able to successfully observe and document far more information on the confident, gregarious and open grassland-dwelling helmeted guinea fowl (Numidia meleagris), or even the more exotic vulturine guinea fowl (Acryllium vulturinum). Compared to the black guinea fowl, the aforementioned species (and most guinea fowl) tend to be found in more exposed, dry savanna and arid open forest habitat, and congregate in larger communal flocks. Black guinea fowl are seemingly very wary birds, living in smaller social groups than other guinea fowl, and are constantly looking for signs of danger—the slightest hint of which will send the group darting into the bush to hide.