Indian peafowl

Indian peafowl

Description

The Indian peafowl is one of the largest and most spectacular members of the pheasant family. The male (peacock) is famous for his enormous 'train' of elongated upper tail coverts, adorned with dozens of iridescent eyespots, which he fans into a shimmering display during courtship. His neck and breast glow metallic blue and his head bears a fan-shaped crest, while the peahen is a mottled brown, smaller and without a train.

Habitat

Open and deciduous woodland, forest edges, scrub and farmland close to water across the Indian subcontinent, usually below about 2,000 m in altitude.

Diet

An omnivore that forages for seeds, grain, shoots, fruit and berries as well as insects, small reptiles including small snakes, and other small animals.

Reproduction

Peafowl are polygynous: a single male mates with several females that he attracts by displaying his raised train. The peahen lays 3–6 eggs in a simple ground nest and incubates them alone for about 28 days; the chicks are downy and follow their mother soon after hatching.

Lifespan

Around 15–20 years in the wild and often over 20 years under human care.

Did you know?

The glittering 'eyes' of the train are produced by light bouncing off microscopic feather structures rather than by pigment, and the train itself is not the tail but overgrown covert feathers that regrow after each annual moult. The species is also the national bird of India.