Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatus
The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced into many parts of the world and feral populations exist in many introduced regions. The peacock is the national bird of India and is the largest Asian galliform. The species is found in dry semi-desert grasslands, scrub and deciduous forests. It forages and nests on the ground but roosts on top of trees. It eats seeds, insects, fruits, small mammals and reptiles. Females are about 86 cm long and weigh 5 kg, while males average at about 8 ft in full breeding plumage and weigh 6 kg.
The male is called a Peacock, the female a Peahen. The Indian Peacock has iridescent blue-green plumage. The upper tail coverts on its back are elongated and ornate with an eye at the end of each feather. These are the Peacocks display feathers. The female plumage is a mixture of dull green, grey and iridescent blue, with the greenish-grey predominating. In the breeding season, females stand apart by lacking the long tail feathers also known as train, and in the non-breeding season they can be distinguished from males by the green colour of the neck as opposed to the blue on the males.
