Four or so months ago, the family of Helmeted Guineafowls visited my garden after the kids have grown up. The dad or mom had a limp and I knew the family by the dad/mom's limp. Over a year or so they visited the garden weekly or sometimes daily. I did not think they will visit the garden again, but in January they visited me, and I was stunned at how ugly they looked in their teen phase. Stunned again, after another four months of no visits, I found them at the usual place. But this time, I have some sad news. The dad/mom who had the limp is missing. So I do not know if a predator caught him/her due to this limp, or if he/she went to another family. I hope the latter is the case. But in any case, the species is flourishing here where I live and I regularly see flocks of 10 plus birds when I jog in the vineyards. But the idea of our mom/dad bird missing is not nice altogether. But today I am showcasing some close-up portrait shots of the three remaining family members! I also add at the end the growth process of the friends.

Mom/Dad

I think this is the mom/dad. I am not an expert to distinguish sex in these birds. But he/she is the eldest, I guess.

Teen One (Nicknamed Flappy)

This is the one teen whom I nicknamed flappy due to his/her "helmet" flapping to the one side. I think it quite cute.

Teen Two (Nicknamed Nervy)

This teen looked nervous (I guess it was my presence in the garden with the camera!). So I called him/her Nervy.

The Attempted Family Portrait

As I did not plan to take these photographs (I was busy wetting the garden) I did not manage to get a nice picture of them together. I did manage one. Here they were munching together on some seeds. (I think one of the dogs next door barked when they all looked up.)

The Progress of the Family

Here is the "progress" or the growth I captured over a year or so. I cannot believe they still visit the garden! I really hope they will bring their own chicks here as well.