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Birds are one of the most diverse creatures of the animal kingdom, but it doesn’t get
as colorful as the peacock.
Closely related to turkeys and chickens, you can easily tell who’s the more fashionable
cousin with just one look.
If you really think about it, peacocks are like nature’s walking canvases.
With feathers that span 6 feet, each peacock displays a unique, intricate pattern on its tail.
These iridescent markings became one of the peacock’s iconic traits, hypnotizing humans
and other animals alike with their beauty.
They may be known for their impressive appearance, but looks aren’t everything; there’s a
lot more to these exotic birds than what meets the eye.
Watch on to find out.
The term peacocks only refers to males.
You may know them as peacocks, but the correct general term is actually peafowl.
Technically, the name ‘peacock’ only applies to the male gender of the species, while females
go by ‘peahen.’
Peafowl are one of the largest flying birds.
Fully-grown, the average peafowl reaches up to 4 feet tall, weighing between 4 to 6 kgs.
Measured from its bill to the top of its spreaded tail, the green peafowl ranks as the largest
living gamebird.
There are only three kinds of peafowls.
The most common is the Blue Peacock native to India and Sri Lanka.
This is followed by the Green Peacock from Java, Myanmar, and Burma.
Finally, the Congo Peacock is a lesser-known kind found in African rainforests.
Only male peafowls have colorful patterns.
Fashion is usually seen as a feminine aspect, but the opposite applies to peacocks.
If you’ve ever seen a peacock with stunning patterns, it’s more likely that it was a male.
Peahens usually come with muted feathers, with colors only ranging from different tones
of brown.
Peacock feathers are called a ‘train’.
This part refers to the most decorative part of their body.
A peacock’s train can reach up to 6 feet, making up 60% of their body mass.
Peacock trains come in a wide range of colors.
The colorful eye-shaped markings on a peacock’s train can vary from blue, red, gold and other hues.
Peacocks use their trains for mating.
Peacocks mainly use their extravagant tails to attract potential mates.
To secure a mate, a peacock would spread its train into a majestic fan across its back,
touching the ground on both sides.
This courtship display helps the peahen decide which peacock would be a suitable mate, usually
going for the one with more impressive feathers.
Peacock feathers have unique microscopic structures.
With color changing properties according to light, you can only expect a complex biology
behind the peacock’s patterns.
This quality results from the reflection of various light wavelengths on their colorful train.
In other words, the feathers’ crystal-like structures are responsible for the fluorescent
colors of a peacock’s train.
A peacock’s train only develops after three years.
Although they look entirely different at adulthood, it’s harder to identify a peachick’s gender
at birth.
Still, they grow up so swiftly that they can walk by themselves in just a week.
After a few months, they would learn how to fly.
Peafowls have four toes on each foot.
Similar to an owl’s talons, peafowls have three toes pointing forward, with one pointing
backwards.
This unique structure helps them grip onto branches as they roost in trees.
Peacocks emit low-frequency sound with their tails.
Whenever they shake their tail a certain way, peacocks produce a noise as loud as the sound
of a passing car.
Their fellow birds can sense and respond to the ‘infrasound’ noise with a volume of
70-108 decibels.
However, human ears would only perceive it as rustling grass in the wind.
Peacock calls are extremely loud.
Although their tails emit low-frequency sound, it’s an entirely different story for their call.
With their screeching sounds, peacocks rank among the loudest creatures to ever grate
at your ears.
During monsoon season, their calls become more frequent as their meowing sounds indicate
the onset of rain.
Peafowls can make 11 different sounds.
Another difference among their species is that peacocks are the ones who really yell.
A peacock’s call can be heard within a five-mile radius, reaching over a hundred decibels over
the distance.
These sounds usually indicate a mating or distress call.
Peafowls are social creatures.
There’s a saying that birds of the same feather flock together, and this rings true
for peafowls.
Peacocks and peahen tend to stay within small groups with a high dependency on their fellow
birds.
A group of peafowls is called a ‘harem’.
However, an all-female group is called a ‘bevvy,’ ‘muster,’ or a ‘party’.
Peafowls like socializing with humans.
Aside from forming groups among their own kind, they also like interacting with humans.
Often, peacocks in captivity would have a “favorite” human.
Peafowls also have aggressive tendencies.
They may be friendly, but peafowl also become territorial when a stranger enters their boundaries,
whether it is a human or a fellow peafowl.
The average lifespan of peafowl is between 10-20 years.
At least, that’s the case when they live in the wild.
On the contrary, they can live up to 50 years under captivity.
Peacocks are polygamous.
Like some animals, peacocks are known to have more than one partner in the wild.
The minimum number of partners for a peacock is two, but they can have up to a maximum
of five female partners.
Peahens lay a ‘clutch’ of three to six eggs.
Peahens have to nurture these eggs for around a month before they hatch into peachicks.
The high time for their clutch-laying runs from January to March.
Most peafowls reach sexual maturity at three years old.
However, blue peacocks have a reputation for breeding as early as two years old.
Peahens are clever birds.
To throw off predators, peahens would lay unfertilized eggs as decoys far away from
their nest.
This behavior confuses predators and helps lead them away from their chicks.
Peafowls can fly.
Starting young, peachicks can fly short distances as early as three days old.
It may come as a surprising ability, considering how fleshy they are.
Still, they often prefer staying on the ground, only flying to escape predators or retreat
into their night roost.
However, peafowl can’t swim like other birds due to their unwebbed feet.
The peacock is India’s national bird.
Aside from that, the bird also holds a significant meaning in Hinduism, symbolizing knowledge,
benevolence, and compassion.
Hindus also regard the peafowl as sacred because they perceive the spots on the birds’ tails
as the eyes of the gods.
Peacocks serve as protectors in Feng Shui.
According to Feng Shui, a peacock’s feathers safeguard people from threats and disasters.
Again, the peculiar ‘eyes’ of the feathers represent a similar meaning to the Hindu value
of watching eyes.
Blue peacocks can survive northern winters.
It’s kind of shocking, considering how they’re native to countries of warm and humid climates.
However, blue peacocks have been found to withstand extreme cold, unlike green peacocks.
Peafowls prefer farmlands and warm regions.
Peafowls like to dwell in places with easy access to plants and low trees, so they can
feed as conveniently as possible.
Possible habitats for this species include farmlands, rainforests, forests, and bushlands.
Peacocks are domesticated animals.
One of the many reasons that people keep peacocks is for their great ability in catching snakes.
As ruthless as they are pretty, these birds feed on even the most poisonous kinds of snakes.
Hence, they have a notoriety for ‘keeping the village safe’ in agricultural areas.
White peacocks are not albino.
Albinism in animals shows through a complete lack of color and pinkish to reddish eyes.
However, white peafowls are a result of leucism, which is a condition of dimming skin and feather
pigments.
White peafowls would be born as yellow peachicks, gradually turning whiter with maturity until
they are entirely white from their crest down to their train.
Hunting has caused the peacock to decline over the years.
Human activity such as poaching and industrialization has led to the absence of proper habitats
for peacocks.
The IUCN lists blue Indian peacocks under the least concern, while the Green and Congo
species are classified under Endangered.
Science and art may be two different fields, but that doesn’t mean they always come separately.
In fact, one look at the animal kingdom will show you creatures of all shapes and sizes.
It’s important to protect endangered species, not just for the delicate balance of the ecosystem.
This way, the future generations can live through the same wonder you experienced when
you first saw a peacock.
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