20 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Peacock | Amazing Facts 4U
- The collective term for these birds is “peafowl.” The males are “peacocks” and the females are “peahens.” The babies are called “peachicks.”
- There are in fact 3 species. Indian peafowl found in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, Green peafowl found in Southeast Asia, and Congo peafowl found in Central Africa.
- A group of peacocks is known as a “party”. The name for a group of peahens is a “harem”.
- Peafowls can live 15-20 years in the wild, and up to 35 years in captivity.
- Their predators include leopards, tigers, and mongoose.
- They are highly sociable birds and require companionship.
- Peafowls are omnivorous i.e, they eat both meat and vegetables. The meal consists of berries, seeds, leaves, insects, small mammals, and reptiles.
- The peacock is one of the largest flying birds. A peacock’s total length can reach 8 feet; 3 feet for the body and 5 feet for the tail feathers (train).
- The male peachicks don’t start growing their showy trains until about age three. In fact, it’s hard to tell the sex of a peachick because they’re nearly identical to their mothers. At around six months, the males will begin to change color. The Congo peafowl doesn’t have the train of feathers.
- Peacocks are best known for their amazing eye-spotted tail feathers or plumage. During a display ceremony, the peacock will stand its tail feathers up to form a fan that stretches out nearly 2 m in length. The eye-like spot on the feather is called the ocellus.
- A male peacock displays beautiful colors and designs while the poor peahen is so plain. The male peacock has 20 large tail feathers which he uses to attract female peahens. The peacock’s tail feathers in fact make up 60% of his total length.
- Peahen chooses its partner by the length, width, and coloration, and designs of the tail and perpetuates these designs through her offspring.
- The peahen will lay an egg each day until she fills her nest with 3-7 eggs. She’ll also lay unfertilized “decoy” eggs that she’ll place away from the nest to confuse predators. The eggs hatch in about 28 days.
- Amazingly there is no blue or green pigment is present in the tail feathers of a male peacock. The brilliant colors that we see are due to microscopic “crystal-like structures” on feathers that reflect different wavelengths of light depending on how they’re spaced resulting in fluorescent colors.
- The tail feathers in fact fall off and are replaced once each summer.
- Peafowls are forest birds that stay on the ground in the day but nest in trees at night
- Peacocks have spurs on their feet that are primarily used to fight with other males. They are polygamous. Peacocks generally have a harem of 2 – 5 females.
- Blue peacocks are the most commonly seen in parks and zoos and are of the Indian variety. The Indian peacock is in fact the national bird of India
- It is one of the loudest birds. The frequency of calls is increased in the monsoon season. In the wild, their calls indicate the presence of some predator like a tiger. They in fact have a range of up to 11 distinct calls that carry long distances.
- The most popular of all the colored mutations is the one without color. The whole bird is pure white due to the cells lacking the ability to make any pigment whatsoever called leucism.
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