A black guineafowl finely spotted with white, and with a tuft of curly black feathers on the crown. The naked face is blue-grey. The neck is all black. In flight, it shows a white stripe on the outer secondaries and inner primaries.
Juvenile is mottled and barred above and below.
Montane, riparian, dune and coastal forests.
A 'chik-chik-chil-chrrrr' given by males; a soft 'keet-keet-keet' contact call, uttered by groups foraging on the forest floor.