NOTES ON THE DIET OF HELMETED GUINEA-FOWL NUMIDA-MELEAGRIS ON DECIDUOUS FRUIT FARMS IN THE WESTERN CAPE-PROVINCE, SOUTH-AFRICA

The crop contents of 24 helmeted guineafowl Numida meleagris were coll ected from six deciduous fruit farms in the Elgin District, Western Ca pe Province, South Africa, from February 1994 to January 1995. The sea sonal pattern of food types eaten and the mean crop volume of 19.7 ml are similar to those recorded for helmeted guineafowl elsewhere, in na tural habitats. Of the 24 crops collected, 13 contained invertebrates. Seed bugs (Family: Lygaeidae), tenebrionid larvae (Family: Tenebrioni dae) and grasshoppers (Family: Acrididae) were common in the crops dur ing autumn, while weevils (Family: Curculionidae), nitidulids (Family: Nitidulidae) and noctuid larvae (Family: Noctuidae) were commonest in crops collected during summer. The presence of fruits in the diet, na mely apples and grapes, during late summer and early autumn, and late autumn and early winter, respectively, is of concern. However, the pos sibility of these fruits, particularly the apples, being eaten from fa llen fruit is not refuted.