guinea fowl

American  

Or guineafowl

noun

1. any of several African, gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Numidinae, especially a common species, Numida meleagris, that has a bony casque on the head and dark gray plumage spotted with white and that is now domesticated and raised for its flesh and eggs.

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guinea fowl British  

noun

1. any gallinaceous bird, esp Numida meleagris, of the family Numididae of Africa and SW Asia, having a dark plumage mottled with white, a naked head and neck, and a heavy rounded body

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Etymology

Origin of guinea fowl

First recorded in 1645–55; see also turkey ( def. )

Example Sentences

We also learn more about guinea fowl than ever imagined, including how the plump species warns the rest of the herd of danger.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2024

She has already been running around, chasing cranes and guinea fowl, according to the wildlife preserve.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2022

Hanja Brandl at the University of Konstanz in Germany is studying guinea fowl in Kenya using small implanted heart-rate loggers combined with solar GPS trackers to observe how stress moves from bird to bird.

From Washington Post • Oct. 30, 2022

"One of the guinea fowl almost went through the windscreen into Christine's face," he told BBC Sport Africa.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2022

Slowly, the guinea fowl approached the cook-fire, which was now only a drift of ashes.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer