Game Birds of the World

The crested guineafowl is found in forests and woodlands from equatorial Africa south to Natal and Zambia. Apart from its bare blue and red skin on the head and neck, both sexes carry a distinctive crest of downy black feathers. The rest of the body is largely covered with black feathers that are heavily marked with pale blue spots. This spotting extends to the tail and flight feathers.

Like the helmeted guineafowl, crested guineafowl utter a variety of loud calls, both during the day and also at dusk, as the birds are settling into roosts. Simultaneous calling, and possibly also antiphonal calling, is typical, as in some tropical New World quails.

The birds are monogamous during the breeding season, with pairs separating from their flocks and remaining apart until the time that their young are well grown. The nest is a simple scrape in heavy cover, and 4–7 eggs constitute the normal clutch. The shells are very thick and relatively rounded; the function of such thick shells in guineafowl is problematic, but it has been suggested that this feature might make the eggs more fire-resistant. It is thought that incubation is performed by the female only, although both sexes participate in care of the young.