Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Native to: Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.
Status: Least Concern
Although peafowl were once common in Bangladesh, now they may be extinct
in that country. Because of its appearance, this bird was taken worldwide as a
showpiece. Early seafarers decided to bring the peafowl to their homelands in
other parts of the western world. This method seemsto have saved the bird
from complete extinction.
Appearance & Lifespan:
Males are large, with a long ornate tail used for courtship. They have a royal blue head, neck and
breast, their facial skin is white, and they have acrest that is fan shaped. Immature males have
varied plumage, but will have the fan-shaped crest and mottled blue upperparts. By the age of three,
they reach full plumage and sexual maturity. The tail may continue to grow for another two to three
years. Males will molt and lose their tails each year in late summer. Females are drab in comparison
to the males. Facial skin and crest shape are the same as the male, but the crest is brown. The throat
is white, breast and back of neck are green, abdomen is pale buff to cream, and the rest of the body
is light brownish-gray. Females do not have the large tail that the males have.
The length of this bird is about 7.5 feet with the tail being about 5 feet of the total length. Females are
generally smaller than males. They weigh between 6-8 pounds.
The life span of the Common Peafowl is approximately 10-25 years.
Behavior & Reproduction:
Peafowl forage on the ground, usually in small groups and try to escape on foot through undergrowth
and avoid flying when there is danger. They will fly up into tall trees to roost for the night. Peafowl are
recognized by their loud calls especially in the breeding season. They may call at night when alarmed
and neighboring birds may call back. Nearly seven different call variants have been identified in the
peacocks apart from six alarm calls that are commonly produced by both sexes.
Peacocks are polygamous, and the breeding season isspread out but appears to be dependent on
the rains. Females do not appear to favor specific males. When a male is displaying, females do not
appear to show any interest and usually continue their foraging. During courtship the males’ long
ornate tail is fanned out and held erect, they quiver and shake their tail to impress the females.
The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground lined with leaves, sticks and other debris. Average clutch
sizes for peafowl in the wild are 6 to 8 eggs. Captive birds will lay up to three clutches of 3-12 eggs
per year. The eggs are light brown and are a littlelarger than a large chicken egg. The incubation
period for the eggs is 28 days. The males do not help to raise the young. Peachicks resemble the
female but have a mottled breast.
Ecology & Habitat:
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Indian Peafowl are widely distributed in the wild across South Asia and protected both culturally in
many areas and by law in India. Poaching of peacocks for their meat, feathers and accidental
poisoning by feeding on pesticide treated seeds areknown threats to wild birds.
Peafowl prefer varied deciduous forests, cultivatedlands and being close to villages. They are very
common in most areas of their natural range. Peafowl forage on the ground for food, they return to
the same watering hole each day at dusk before roosting in a tree for the night. Their diet in the wild
includes grains, insects, small reptiles, small mammals, berries, drupes, wild figs, and some
cultivated crops.
At the zoo we feed our peafowl gamebird pellets, poultry grain, lettuce and carrot tops, oyster shell
and poultry grit.
Did You Know?
- This is the National Bird of India.
- This species is sometimes simply called the Peacock; the peacock is the male, females are known
as peahens and the young are peachicks. - The train on the male is made of over 200 feathers.
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