There is a distinct difference between the male andfemale peafowl. Here, the maleand his harem ofhens enjoy a treat ofbread.

IndianBlue Peafowl

King of Pheasantsby Marcus MartinPasadena, Texas

Ah, yes, the magnificent IndianBlue Peafowl, more commonlyreferred to as the peacock or peahen,is known to ornithologists as PavocristatusJ a Latin name meaning"crested peacock~' Almost everyoneknows of this splendid bird and,perhaps, also of his vanity. For as longas man has known of the peacock,the bird has been tagged with the taleof being proud and vainglorious. Theexact creature of origin of the pea­cock is unknown, but there is evi­dence that he has been around forabout 500,000 years. He has beenmentioned in the Bible and inShakespeare's literature. Even today,we use the saying "proud as a pea­cock" and his name is synonymouswith one of the most illuminatingshades of blue in the entire spectrum.No other bird has been so admired forbeauty as the peacock.

Originating in the forests of Indiaand Sri Lanka, the peacock has beensent to every country in Europe, andcan be found also in America, Mexico,Australia, and other places world-

wide. His historical past goes beyondthe Roman Empire, where he wasdeclared a delicacy. The peacockwas in America before GeorgeWashington's time and graced planta­tions and farms. Today, however, hismain haunts include zoos and estates,and even some private farms.

I am fifteen years old, but I amboundlessly enthusiastic about thisextraordinary bird. The Indian pea­fowl has been revered for its beauty

for thousands of years. India chosethis flamboyant creature to be theirnational bird. Pavo cristatus is foundfrom the foothills of the Himalayassouth to the island of Sri Lanka. TheIndian peacock is not the only pea­fowl found wild on earth. His closerelative, the Javan or green peafowl, isfound further east, from southeastAssam to Thailand and southernChina, including the Malaysian penin­sula and the island of Java. The Javan

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While displaying, the peafowl turns around again and again to reveal the drabbackside and to see ifthe female runs around to see the front, which means she isreadyfor mating.

A yearlingpeacock Sh01VS offfor his pos­sible ((mate." You can clearly see thebird's true tail in this photo.

afa WATCHBIRD 51

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HusbandryThe Indian peafowl is popular as a

pet bird because of its ease of mainte­nance, wide varying diet and, ofcourse, all the dazzling colors! Thereis also a great eagerness in peafowl tobreed, which makes them all themore desirable. Peafowl eat a varietyof foods including shoots, leaves,berries, seeds, snails, worms, miceand snakes. Even small birds can be atrisk. If you have a garden, free reiningpeafowl may enjoy your plants beforeyou can, destroying small sprouts andpecking holes in tomatoes. Fenceswill not help, for the peacock can flyquite easily, and will do so to satisfytheir conceited selves.

Even with clipped wings, a peafowlcan clear a seven foot fence with ease.Peafowl roost in trees or on the tallestpoint on the property, if trees aren'tavailable, or too small. (They prefer toroost at least 30 feet off the ground.)Peacocks take dust baths, scratchingthe soil, then flapping their wings init to penetrate the feather quills toexterminate parasites.

one could mistake her for a separatespecies! Her overall plumage color isgreyish-brown, with the breast beingbuff and the neck a dull green. Thehen's face has one stripe over theeyes, but the entire throat is a bare,white patch of skin. She has a shorttail, and lacks the gorgeous train.Both sexes have grey, spurred legs.

HousingThe peafowl is a hardy bird which

can be let to have free run of yourproperty, even if you live up north.Snow, freezing temperatures, and raindo not seem to affect them verymuch. But they need a shelter facingsouth, for they don't like to get wet,and if the male's train gets soaked, hemay not be able to escape predators,which may include large dogs, hawks,owls, skunks, opossums, and rac­coons. They can also be kept in anaviary, just as long as it meets therequired size. A male needs at leastseven feet in height to display, and atleast ten feet wide to be able to turnaround with his full train and at least20 feet long so he can exercise. A paircan live in an aviary this size, but thelarger the aviary the better. They willlive peaceably with most other birds.

BreedingBreeding season for the peacock,

which lasts from April to late June orJuly (when the male molts all of his

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and the primaries are a sandy rustcolor. The fairly large beak is lightgrey and the iris of the eye is brown.There are two naked patches of whiteskin above and below each eye, and acrest of feathers with barbs only atthe tip adorn the crown. The maleboasts a huge train of 300 to 350long, barbed feathers, ending with apatterned eyespot or ocelli. This traincan sometimes measure up to six feet,but it is usually about five feet, withthe length of the bird's body exclud­ing the train being three to three andone-half feet. The peahen, or female,is so drab compared to her mate, that

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green peafowl (Pavo muticus) is ahighly temperamental bird and is notas common in captivity.

The blue peafowl, as with all otherpheasants, is sexually dimorphic,with the peahen being drasticallyduller than her gaudy mate. The maleis unmistakable, with his plumagebeing exceptionally brilliant. Themale's head, neck and breast are aradiant turquoise blue. The feathersof the back are greenish-gold withbronze edges. The tertiary wingcoverts are barred white and black,the primary coverts and secondariesare blackish with metallic blue tints,

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long train feathers), is monsoon timein Asia. At the time of breeding sea­son, the peafowl start vocalizing,staking out territories and lettinghens know where they are. And bythe way, despite the bird's beautifulappearance, he has not much of asong bird' s voice. The main call is aloud, drawn-out scream, which maybe mistaken for someone desperatelyscreaming for help. The second call isa threatening call. It is a honk, whichis like an I8-wheeler's airhorn. Theyuse this call when threatened.

As the breeding season proceeds,the males begin to display in theirterritories. And it is this courtshipdisplay which has made the peacockso well known. It starts with the malebecoming totally still, with his headtilting slightly downward. The birdthen violently shakes himself all over,rattling the long train quills, andlowering the wings. With the wingsquivering and the train quills stillrattling, the males throws the half­opened train up, again shaking allover, and lifts the opened train to analmost 90 0 angle, all of this happen­ing in seconds. The bird then strutsand prances, turning to reveal thedrab backside and true tail, which isordinary. He may strut for onlyseconds, or for well over an hour, andhis intended audience may be a pea­hen or even a group of admiringhumans. While he is showing off, thepeahens usually ignore him, andwhen they do get ready for mating,they crouch down, with their wingspartly opened. At this point, the malequickly closes and lowers his magnifi­cent train and mates with them inturn. A few days after mating, the henlooks for a place to lay her four toeight buff colored eggs. The nest isnothing spectacular, just the ordinarychicken-like scrape in the groundlined with leaves or grass. She incu­bates the eggs for 28 to 32 days andthe chicks are able to follow themother hours after hatching. Themale chicks acquire the body plum­age at one year, but it takes three yearsfor the full train to grow, and thisgrows longer through the fifth andsixth year.

This spectacular bird has beenrevered for beauty since antiquity,and is still enjoyed today. They arenot expensive, ranging from 45 to$100 each, and are a real pleasure tohave. So, if you do not have this splen­did bird in your collection, please doinclude it to ensure the future of thismagnificent king of pheasants! •

afa WATCHBIRD 53