White-breasted guineafowl

White-breasted guineafowl
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Numididae
Genus:	Agelastes
Species:	A. meleagrides
Binomial name
	Agelastes meleagrides; Bonaparte, 1850

The white-breasted guineafowl (Agelastes meleagrides) is a medium-sized, up to 45 cm long, terrestrial bird of the guineafowl family.

Description

It has a black plumage with a small, bare, red head, white breast, long, black tail, greenish-brown bill, and greyish feet. The sexes are similar, although the female is slightly smaller than the male.

Distribution

The white-breasted guineafowl is distributed in subtropical West African forests of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Although preferring a more dry climate, the species prioritizes forest coverage causing the distribution of the species to have a much broader distribution.

Diet

Its diet consists mainly of seeds, berries, termites, and small animals.

Conservation

Due to ongoing habitat loss and hunting in some areas, the white-breasted guineafowl is rated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

References

^ BirdLife International (2016). "Agelastes meleagrides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679545A92818303. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679545A92818303.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Freeman, B., Jiménez-García, D., Barca, B., & Grainger, M. (2019)^[1]

WALTERT, M., SEIFERT, C., RADL, G., & HOPPE-DOMINIK, B. (2010)^[2]

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet

^ Freeman, B., Jiménez-García, D., Barca, B., & Grainger, M. (2019). Using remotely sensed and climate data to predict the current and potential future geographic distribution of a bird at multiple scales: The case of agelastes meleagrides, a western african forest endemic. Avian Research, 10(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0160-y
^ WALTERT, M., SEIFERT, C., RADL, G., & HOPPE-DOMINIK, B. (2010). Population size and habitat of the white-breasted guineafowl agelastes meleagrides in the taï region, côte d'ivoire. Bird Conservation International; Bird Conservation International, 20(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270909990189

[iucn_status_12_November_2021-1] BirdLife International (2016). "Agelastes meleagrides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679545A92818303. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679545A92818303.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

[2] Freeman, B., Jiménez-García, D., Barca, B., & Grainger, M. (2019). Using remotely sensed and climate data to predict the current and potential future geographic distribution of a bird at multiple scales: The case of agelastes meleagrides, a western african forest endemic. Avian Research, 10(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0160-y

[3] WALTERT, M., SEIFERT, C., RADL, G., & HOPPE-DOMINIK, B. (2010). Population size and habitat of the white-breasted guineafowl agelastes meleagrides in the taï region, côte d'ivoire. Bird Conservation International; Bird Conservation International, 20(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270909990189

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