Plumed guineafowl

The plumed guineafowl is a captivating bird belonging to the guineafowl family, predominantly found in the humid primary forests of Central Africa. While it resembles certain crested guineafowl subspecies, it can be distinguished by its straighter and taller crest along with the comparatively long wattles on each side of its bill.

There are two recognized subspecies of this bird:

1. G. p. plumifera (Cassin, 1857) - Known as the Cameroon plumed guineafowl, this subspecies inhabits regions ranging from southern Cameroon to the Congo Basin, as well as northern Gabon and northern Angola. The bare skin on its face and neck is a uniform dull grey-blue.

2. G. p. schubotzi (Reichenow, 1912) - Referred to as Schubotz's plumed guineafowl, this subspecies is found from northern Zaire to the East African Rift and in forests west of Lake Tanganyika. In contrast to the western subspecies, it features a few orange patches interspersed with the grey-blue coloration on its face and neck.

These distinctive characteristics and their specific habitats make the plumed guineafowl an exceptional bird to observe in the wild.