How I Met Lilly, The Helmeted Guineafowl

September 20, 2017 |

One bright summer morning, as the sun generously blazed its intense rays upon the cityscape, the routine rhythm of rush hour filled the air. A sense of hurriedness lingered in the bustle of traffic: a blaring honk from a car rushing by, the distant sputter of a helicopter flying overhead, and occasionally, an unfamiliar squawk. Typical sights and sounds of the city- all but the squawk. Hence, as I walked out of my door to start my day, I had no idea of the rare encounter that awaited me. Mind distracted with the to-dos ahead, and paying little attention to the various sounds, I kept walking until I arrived upon an unusually pleasant scene. Positioned beside my car, and catching me by surprise, was a lovely large bird greeting my arrival. Although I wasn’t sure what type of bird it was at the time, its large gray frame, striking white head, and sturdy thick legs made me certain it belonged to an exotic family of birds. Alluringly plumed birds of this size usually don’t tend to be roaming around your premises in Los Angeles. Thus, you can imagine my amazement to see it cheerfully waddling about near my car.

Stepping lightly with a careful approach, I slowly went closer to the large bird and started to softly speak to it, almost in a whisper. Whereupon it stopped, nonchalantly turned, and answered me with a rather loud and resounding “Squawk!”, and continued to waddle around the car. I was stumped! It sounded nothing like a chirp of a bird, neither was it like a cluck of a chicken, nor was it like a rooster crow. No, this was a very unique sounding call, that was coming from a very special bird indeed.

As is customary when witnessing something extraordinary, I took out my phone and started taking photos of the fantastic sight- which the bird seemed to enjoy. After spending some time together, it grew late, and I knew it was time to leave. Thinking it would be the last time I saw the beautiful bird, I reluctantly bid it farewell and went my way.

Upon my return home later that afternoon, I was thrilled to see that the big exotic-looking bird was still there, leisurely waddling around the front yard and once again greeting my arrival. With a huge smile on my face, I happily approached the bird, and as I bent down to get closer, it turned around in its signature laid-back manner and gave me another “Squawk!” I had to laugh! This sound that it makes, it’s delightfully different, but a jarring juxtaposition to the relaxed, and casual demeanor that the bird exudes. One would never imagine that such a sound would come out of such an elegant creature upon hearing it for the first time.

In the midst of these fun moments, I felt the heft of the summer air. The sun’s rays were ablaze, the weather had gotten quite hot, and I began to think that the bird should be thirsty by now. So, I set out a bowl of cool, refreshing water for it to enjoy, but no food yet, as I didn’t know what its diet consisted of or what it preferred to eat. I then started doing some research as to what type of bird it was. I kept wondering, “Is it a wild turkey?, A rare chicken?” It has spots, sort of like a peacock when it fans out its tail feathers, so I thought, “Is it a type of peacock?” I wasn’t sure. Even after doing my research on the internet, I still couldn’t come to a definitive conclusion.

My only solution…Mom! My mother, Ana, is a zoologist, and her knowledge of the animal kingdom is vast and precise. My mother’s passion and compassion for animals are the reasons that I love animals myself and have a strong interest in nature and wildlife. Later that evening, when we had a chance to speak, I told her about the wonderful large bird I’d seen in the yard and took her outside to see it for herself. At first glance, she immediately knew, ” It’s a Helmeted Guineafowl,” she said, scientific name “Numida Meleagris”. Yay! Mystery solved.

Now I knew what kind of bird it was, but what does it eat? Well, it turns out that its diet consists of insects, seeds, fruit, snails, spiders, worms, and even frogs and snakes. However, a regular poultry diet with an increased amount of protein will do, as they require more protein than the average chicken. Another great fun fact is that they eat ticks and are regularly used in the effort to control Lyme disease. My mother also mentioned that the Helmeted Guineafowl are often domesticated and raised as pets. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the bird was a pet of a neighbor who had moved and left it behind. As far as conservation is concerned, I was very happy to learn that our bird friend belongs to a species of large birds that is thankfully not endangered. In fact, their numbers are steadily increasing.

Nevertheless, from that day forward, the Helmeted Guineafowl decided not to leave and made herself quite at home. I named her Lilly, because she took a particular liking to a bed of lilies that grow beside the plumerias in my garden. She likes to play and waddle around the flowers with a feral kitty she has befriended. She also likes to “Squawk!” a lot, very loudly, in repetition, and it sounds kind of like a duck-except not exactly, just a certain cadence at times. But that sound has now become quite familiar, and endearing. Also, remember how she was waddling around the car when I first saw her? That mystery has been solved as well. During the day, after playing in the flowers, Lilly prefers to nap under an orange tree in the backyard. She also seems fond of relaxing in the shade way back in the yard where trees meet like a canopy. However, when it comes to her nocturnal sleeping arrangements she has picked a rather strange location to make her bed. You see, as soon as the sky starts to darken, Lilly flies up and sleeps on the hood of my car! As I understand it, Helmeted GuineaFowl like to sleep high up in trees at night. But Lilly, she prefers a car hood. It seems she might have picked her residence here because she liked the car, and is perhaps a Land Rover enthusiast. Ha!

For the time being, this is Lilly’s home. She seems to be enjoying her stay, and I’m enjoying having her here. No matter what the future holds, for now this lovely bird has made my days a little more special. Thank you so much for talking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed the story of how I met Lilly, the Helmeted Guineafowl.