Summer grassland cover on cattle farms in KwaZulu-Natal: Does it limit nesting habitat for helmeted guineafowl?

This study investigates if the decline of helmeted guineafowl Numida meleag ris in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, can be attributed to a shortage of suitable grassland cover for nesting at the start of the breedi ng season. During the early summer breeding season, all sites sampled (n = 50) from 10 farms had grassveld cover (i.e. area of plant matter per unit v olume of space) values lower than those recorded at two guineafowl nests. A lthough there was a negative relationship between stocking rates and the av erage grassveld cover per farm during early summer, a positive relationship was found between guineafowl abundance and grassveld cover for this period . High summer grazing pressure and intensive winter burning programmes may thus limit suitable grassland cover for nesting guineafowl in early summer. A reduction in sheep farming may also have contributed to the decline in g uineafowl numbers. Further study is required to establish if the degradatio n of grasslands and the size and distribution of suitable nest patches on i ntensively farmed properties have reduced nesting success and, ultimately. contributed to the declining helmeted guineafowl populations.