Guineafowl are ground birds — they spend most of their time walking and running rather than flying. They scratch at the ground searching for seeds, insects, berries and small tubers. Vulturine guineafowl can run very fast when startled, and they prefer to escape on foot rather than take to the air.
They are highly social birds and live in groups of up to 25 individuals. The flock moves together through the savanna in a loose cluster, all searching for food at the same time. Having many eyes watching for predators makes the whole group safer than if each bird were alone.
The electric-blue feathers on the vulturine guineafowl's chest and back shimmer and change colour as the light hits them from different angles — a property called iridescence. This is the same effect you see in soap bubbles or in an oil slick on a puddle, where thin layers create shifting rainbow colours.
At night, vulturine guineafowl roost in trees, flying up to branches to sleep safely away from ground predators. Despite preferring to run by day, they are perfectly capable of flying up to a tree to roost. In the morning, they drop back down and set off walking again to find their breakfast.