Peacocks
By Marissa

Welcome to the peacock page! Did you know that scientists actually call male peafowl peacocks, females peahens, and babies (under one year old) peachicks?  However, today most English speaking people call all birds belonging to the peafowl family peacocks.  

Did you know that long ago people never got to see peacocks?  That’s because they once all lived in the deep forests of India!  Today, wild peacocks can still be found in India, although now villagers like having peacocks around. They like having peacocks around because they eat small poisonous snakes and other pests.  Today the Indian peafowl is the National bird of India.

Peacocks communicate visually and through sound.  The peacock’s courtship rituals include the display of its beautiful plumage and a loud call. The males' call sounds similar to a cats “meow.” As for the females' call, it is similar to the dogs “arf” bark. A male peacock shakes its tail feathers in the direction of the peahen to get her attention.  Peacocks are polygamous, so they mate with 4 or 5 peahens, although they can be happy with one.

Females can also display their plumage to keep danger away from their young or to get rid of other female competition.  Many of the brilliant colors of the peacock plumage are due to an optical interference phenomenon found in the barbules of the feathers.  

Oh no! It’s coming after me! Peacocks scream warnings whenever something is wrong, especially at night. If a branch falls or an animal walks by, everyone will hear it for sure. Here are some of the loud sounds they make: “Lee-own! Lee-own Ah-wooed! Kokkok-kok-kok-kok! Eyehook and Eyehook."  If some peacocks moved into your neighborhood, would you be a fan of these noisy, but beautiful birds?

Do you know what a peacock looks like?  Well, the males' tail feathers (also known as the plumage or trains) are colored green, blue, and orange. However, the plumage isn't really a tail but is really made of long upper tail coverts.  

Besides the blue peacocks, there are also green peacocks with golden-green bodies and necks.  Both kinds have been bred to have many different colors of feathers including white.  As for the females, their feathers are colored brown and green, and they do not have the long trains.  Both species have a head crest.

Did you know that peacocks eat plant parts, flower petals, seed heads, and insects?  Almost all peacocks hunt for small animals, minnows, and arthropods on the ground, in shallow streams and also in tall grass. Usually a peacock prefers to eat small snakes and other reptiles.   

People who raise peacocks feed them shelled corn, cracked corn, oats, rabbit pellets, dog food, trout chow, sunflower seed, grass, dandelions, insects, and other foods.

The female makes a nest on the ground in a protected area or she may dig a hole. Peahens will lay up to ten or more brownish eggs.  

After a month, the strong little peachicks hatch and start chasing after insects to eat. Peacock chicks' wings are so strong that they could fly to a low branch.  

• Did you know that in the wilds of India peacocks have to watch out for predators? They have to watch out for tigers, leopards, and other large predators.  Whenever a peacock sees one, they call out a loud warning.

• Did you know that males' feathers are actually brown?  When the light hits the feathers in all different directions, breathtaking colors shimmer and glow.

• Here's another interesting fact!  The tail feathers on a peacock grow out of its back.  His tail feathers are actually behind the fan of feathers.  The fan of feathers are held up straight by his tail feathers. 
• With good care, peafowl can live up to forty to fifty years.
  

Online Recourses

Fact Monster/ Information Please R Database, copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  

Fitzpatrick, John W. “Peacock.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. World Book, Inc. 18 Jan. 2006 <http://www.worldbookonline.com/web/Article?Id=ar419020>.

Images

Copyrighted animation of peacock from "Animation Factory" <http://www.animationfactory.com/> March, 2006.  Animations are not in the public domain and are available only to members.

Thumbnail and larger photograph of peacock with fan open has been released into the public domain by its creator, Arpingstone. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible, the creator grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.  Photograph from from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.

Permission to use photographs of close-up of feathers, peacock's head is granted  under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.