GERTIE the Guineafowl
African Birdlife|May/June 2023
The first of a series where we get to know the characters that add the most colour to our skies.
JUSTIN FOX
GERTIE the Guineafowl

Gertruida is my name, Gertie for short. Me and the flock, we love it here on the smallholdings around Bloemfontein. Lekker plots to hang out in, the locals are friendly, not too many cars. We can sort out the cats if they hassle us and we avoid gardens with dogs. We don’t like dogs. Nothing personal; they just get a bit, you know, excitable.

We’ve got cousins all over the show: across most of Africa and quite a few overseas too. It’s actually more a case of having shacked up with humans who’ve taken us abroad on holiday and one thing led to another. Romance, new horizons. These days there are guineas in the Caribbean, Brazil, Australia, even the south of France. Can you imagine having to learn another language! I mean, what’s ‘ker-bek-ker-bek-ker-bek, krrrrrr’ in French?

Denne historien er fra May/June 2023-utgaven av African Birdlife.

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Denne historien er fra May/June 2023-utgaven av African Birdlife.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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