A helmeted guineafowl stands in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) — A guineafowl stands in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Creator: [New Jersey Birds](https://www.flickr.com/people/42646706@N02), [Wikimedia Commons source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Numida_meleagris_-Kruger_National_Park,_South_Africa-8a.jpg), CC BY-SA 2.0. Licence: [CC BY-SA 2.0 deed](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en).

Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

View image source

Species record

Helmeted Guinea Fowl

Numida meleagris

Explore the Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

Helmeted guineafowl are ground-feeding birds native to sub-Saharan Africa. They forage in flocks across grasslands, savannas, cultivated areas and scrub, often near fresh water, eating seeds and small animals. They roost in trees at night, and people also raise them for meat and eggs.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Chordates
  3. Subphylum: Vertebrates
  4. Class: Birds
  5. Order: Galliformes
  6. Family: Numididae
  7. Genus: Numida

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
grasslands, savannas, cultivated areas, scrublands, areas near fresh water
Selected regions
Africa, Europe, North America
Selected countries
Nigeria, Ghana, France, United States

Conservation status

The Ark records: Least Concern.

Did you know?

  • Both sexes have a bony casque, the helmet-like structure that gives the species its name.

More images

A helmeted guineafowl stands in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) — A guineafowl stands in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Creator: Bob, [Wikimedia Commons source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Numida_meleagris_-Serengeti_National_Park,_Tanzania-8_(1).jpg), CC BY 3.0. Licence: [CC BY 3.0 deed](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en).

Licence: CC BY 3.0

View image source

Sources and attribution