Helmeted guinea fowl
Scientific name: Numida meleagris (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
The helmeted guinea fowl is the best known of the guinea fowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida. It is native to Africa, mainly south of the Sahara, and has been widely introduced, as a domesticated species, into the West Indies, North America, Colombia, Brazil, Australia and Europe.
From the Wikipedia article “Helmeted guinea fowl”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3.
Size and lifespan
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| Birth weight | 39.4 g |
| Adult weight | 1.59 kg |
Source: Wikidata, citing “AVIAN BODY SIZES IN RELATION TO FECUNDITY, MATING SYSTEM, DISPLAY BEHAVIOR, AND RESOURCE SHARING”, article by Terje Lislevand et al published June 2007 in Ecology.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Africa; Caribbean; Oceania.
Common names
Also known in English as Helmeted Guineafowl.
Names in other languages (11)
- Arabic
- دجاج غيني أبو خوذة
- Bengali
- শিরস্ত্রাণযুক্ত গিনি মুরগি
- Chinese
- 珠鸡
- French
- Pintade commune, Pintade de Numidie
- German
- Helmperlhuhn
- Japanese
- ホロホロチョウ
- Persian
- مرغ شاخدار کلاهپوش
- Portuguese
- Galinha d'Angola, galinha-d'angola, pintada, pintada-comum, pintada-da-guiné
- Russian
- Обыкновенная цесарка, Цесарки
- Spanish
- Pintada común
- Urdu
- چینی مرغی
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, measurements, names in other languages. Q251842, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Helmeted guinea fowl”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Izvora, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026