Indian Peafowl

Description:

The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family. The male, peacock, is predominantly blue with a fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff and elongated feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. The female lacks the train, has a greenish lower neck and has a duller brown plumage.

Habitat:

native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world. They are found mainly on the ground in open forest or cultivation where they forage for berries, grains but will also prey on snakes, lizards, and small rodents. The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent and is found in the drier lowland areas of Sri Lanka. In South Asia, it is found mainly below an altitude of 1800 m and in rare cases seen at about 2000m. It is found in moist and dry-deciduous forests, but can adapt to live in cultivated regions and around human habitations and is usually found where water is available.

Notes:

It is a bird that is celebrated in Indian and even Greek mythology and is national bird of India. I visited NYC in July this year. Spent an entire day at the Bronx Zoo, where I must say, the animals were happier than I've ever seen (for zoo animals), and for good reason- the enclosures were spectacular and well-maintained.