is "shooting" wildlife imported from there and either incarcerated in a zoological garden or domesticated and living as farm animals. Kind of like this guinea fowl I shot yesterday while out and about with the darling wife and her parents, meandering around the neighboring state of Quindío.

There were five of them and the folks we were visiting tell me that they roost in a tree in front of their place. They actually "belong" to the farm just to the west of where we were, but they retain much of their independence and unless you've got them in a chicken wire enclosure (covering the top as well) then they WILL get around. On the positive side, they're good about keeping down the tick population as well as cleaning up other insects as well. It was great to see them as I've not seen any since we left Brazil late in the last century. Over there they're known as "angolistas" or "guineas", harkening back to their transport from Angola, Guinea and other African regions to the "New World". Unlike turkeys, they don't seem to get dumb with "civilizing influences".

If you were an Englishman in the late Renaissance, you might well have known the Guinea fowl as a "Turkey bird," because as far as your average Englishman knew, Turkey is where they came from.

Which is why, upon seeing a large, previously unknown ground-feeding bird in North America, new English settlers referred to the new animals as "Turkey birds."

Word on the street is that Guineas are better table fare than turkeys. I've never had the chance to find out, myself, but I can believe it because I've had some pretty mediocre turkey.

-Aaron

They are indeed, especially when cooked up over a wood fire by a Brazilian backwoods woman. Served over short grain rice with beans and farofa and a tomato, onion, cilantro salad with lime juice and you've got the makings for a memorable meal.

As a kid our neighbor across the road had Guineas, little traffic on our gravel road but they never got hit by passing cars. Several years back Becky wanted Guineas. I built a Guinea coop and we bought 2 males and 4 females. The eggs are excellent. Our dusk to dawn security light came on early one night because of a storm and they failed to go back to the coop roosting under the security light. They must be pretty tasty to Owls, one took a male that night. Lost four more over the next three weeks. One little crafty female lasted almost two months. She never roost in the same tree twice. She finally got hit one morning as soon as she landed.