A few days ago I was out pulling some weeds along the driveway, enjoying the sun and the gentle sound of birdsong.
As I neared John's truck, a terrible sound arose. My first thought was that it was some Doomsday alarm, alerting passersby to the imminent explosion of the vehicle, and I reached for my phone to tell John about the problem and ask what I should do.
Then a confusion of guineas ran out from beneath the truck -- mostly males, as they make the harsh chi, chi, chi sound I was hearing, unlike the female's more gentle potterack? potterack? which I would have recognized. (Link HERE to a recording of guinea sounds.)
And yes, confusion is the accepted collective noun for these weird critters--but at least the truck didn't explode.