Hi! You are looking at one of the most beautiful creation of the nature. We are the Indian Peafowls. We are commonly called as Peacocks (referring to the males) and well known for our beautiful tail feathers.
There is so much to know about us, read below:
- We are only found in India and Sri Lanka, especially in South India. In fact, we are the national bird of India. You can find us foraging in agricultural fields and open grasslands.
- Our beautiful tail feathers or normally very long and lowered. Only males possess these feathers and to attract females, males open these feathers, spread them, and dance.
- Since our breeding season is in the rainy season, our dance in the rain with our feathers open creates a very beautiful scene to watch.
- We inspire art and thus we are very famous from historic times and depicted in various temple art, mythology, poetry, folk music, and traditions.
- In Hindu mythology, we play a very prominent role, our feather is worn by Lord Krishna on the head and vehicle for Lord Murugan. Unable to defeat the demon king Ravana, Indra, the king of gods, took shelter under the peacock’s tail and gained the ability of thousand eyes.
- There is also folklore about how we mate in India, according to the folklore, the male sheds tears and the female drinks them to get pregnant.
- We are also famous in writings and culture outside of our range. In ancient Viking society, our feathers are buried along with the dead. In Robinhood stories, the archer uses the arrows that have our feathers fletched to them.
- The word “Peacock” has another term deriving from our behavior. It describes a man who is proud or a man who gives a lot of attention to clothing.
- We are a huge cultural icon throughout the world and our look, and our feathers are used as symbols and logos.
SOME QUICK FACTS:
Our Scientific Name: Pavo Cristatus.
Our Identification: Big colorful birds (mostly blue) with long train of green tail feather with eye like pattern.
Our Habitat: moist and dry-deciduous forests where there is water.
Our Range:
Our Food Habits: Omnivorous and eat seeds, insects, fruits, small mammals, and reptiles.
Our Breeding Period: during the rainy season (June-September).
Number of eggs laid: 4-8 eggs.
Incubation period: 28 days.
Lifespan: wild – 15 years, captivity – 25 years.
IUCN red list status: Least Concern.
CITES: Appendix III
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Pavo
Species: P. cristatus
COMPLETE DETAILS FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are a beautiful and bright birds native to South Asia, especially known for our feathers with colorful eye spots that make a long train at the rear end. Notably, we are also called as Blue Peafowl.
Scientifically, Indian Peacocks are called as Pavo Cristatus.
How We Look:
The male is called Peacock and the female is called Peahen. The peacock has a length of about 100cm-115cm and weighs about 4kg-6kg. The peahen is small, having a length of about 95 cm and weighing about 2.75kg – 4kg.
Only the male peacock has the train of long feathers with eyespots and its length is about 195cm – 225 cm. We normally have two legs and like every bird has a beak. We also have a crest and a crown with metallic blue color for a male. The peacock is very colorful with blue being major color whereas peahen is brown in color with a metallic green lower neck. The young ones of our species look like females.
We Are Found In:
We usually live in moist and dry-deciduous forests where there is water. We can also live in cultivated regions and around human habitations.
We are native to Indian Subcontinent and are found in South India and Sri Lanka. But due to our adaptive nature, we are also introduced in many other countries like United States, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, Portugal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Croatia.
What We Eat:
We are omnivorous birds and eat seeds, insects, fruits, small mammals, and reptiles. We also feed on small snakes. When we are near cultivated areas, we feed on a wide range of crops such as groundnut, tomato, paddy, chilly and even bananas. We also eat human excreta in rural areas.
Our Reproduction:
We normally live in groups of male and 3-5 females but after breeding season only female and young ones live together.
To attract a female, the male produces loud calls and also display its train of feathers by opening and spreading it thus creating a beautiful sight. The breeding season is during the rainy season.
Peahen makes a nest with leaves, sticks, and debris and lays about 4-8 eggs. The peahen incubates these eggs and they take about 28 days to hatch. The young peafowls are fed by its mother and gain their sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age.
In wild, we can live up to 15 years and in when taken care in captivity we can live up to 25 years of age.
More About Us:
Peafowls, especially peacocks are known for their train of feathers. They display a beautiful arrangement of these feathers.
We are one of the heavy birds and are a powerful predator for the small prey.
Our calls or shouts are of different types indicating danger and mating calls. Its frequency increases before the monsoon.
We play a huge role in benefiting crops by eating small insects that damage plants.
Our Conservation:
We are listed under “least concern” in the IUCN red list, listed in CITES Appendix III and protected under Schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. We are abundantly found in India and is widely distributed in the wild across South Asia and protected both culturally in many areas and by law in India.
There are about 100,0,000 peafowls in India and Sri Lanka. Although we are abundant, hunting for meat and feathers have reduced our population size. This poaching is being controlled and efforts are made to stop.
