Guttera pucherani
Silhouette: Daniel Giraud Elliot · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The eastern crested guinea fowl (Guttera pucherani) is a species of guinea fowl native to East Africa. It is found in Somalia to Tanzania, Zanzibar and Tumbatu Island, where it inhabits open forest, woodland and forest-savanna mosaics. It is one of three species that were formerly considered to be one and the same species, the crested guinea fowl.
The intraspecific taxonomy of the crested guinea fowl has been subject to considerable debate, but most recent authorities (such as I. Martinez in Handbook of the Birds of the World) accept five subspecies across three different species. In 2022, Clements and the IUCN split the species into three, with the eastern crested guinea fowl being monotypic, comprising only the nominate subspecies. The subspecies sclateri and verreauxi were designated as the western crested guinea fowl, and edouardi and barbara as the southern crested guinea fowl. In 2023, the IOC World Bird List followed suit.
The three species of crested guinea fowl have a total length of around 50 cm (20 in) and weigh 721–1,543 g (1.590–3.402 lb). The plumage is overall blackish with dense white spots. They have distinctive black crests on the top... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 10 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 11 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 13 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 17 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 18 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 19 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Guineafowl sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 209th most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Guineafowl in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July–September and November–April, the lowest months. Those are among Virunga National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Guineafowl sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Crested Guineafowl sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 50%), iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 50%) and Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Guineafowl is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
