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Peafowl

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                  iPeafowl
   Indian Blue Peacock
   Indian Blue Peacock
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Galliformes
   Family:  Phasianidae
   Genus:   Pavo
            Linnaeus, 1758
            Afropavo
            Chapin, 1936

                                   Species

   Pavo cristatus
   Pavo muticus
   Afropavo congensis
   An Indian Blue Peacock displaying
   Enlarge
   An Indian Blue Peacock displaying

   The term peafowl can refer to any of three species of bird in the
   genera Pavo and Afropavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are
   best known for the male's extravagant tail, which it displays as part
   of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen.
   Although commonly used, peacock is an incorrect term to refer to both
   sexes.

   The three species are:
     * Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus (Asiatic)
     * Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus (Asiatic)
     * Congo Peafowl, Afropavo congensis (African)

Overview

   The Asiatic peafowl genus Pavo includes the familiar Indian Peafowl or
   Indian Blue Peafowl and the much rarer Green Peafowl or Dragonbird. The
   Congo Peafowl is found in parts of Central Africa.

   The Green Peafowl breeds from Myanmar east to Java. The IUCN lists the
   Green Peafowl as vulnerable to extinction due to hunting and a
   reduction in extent and quality of habitat.

Taxonomy

   The two Pavo species will hybridize in captivity although their ranges
   in the wild are non-overlapping.

   Some taxonomists believe that the endangered Green Peafowl is actually
   a complex of five distinct species although they are currently treated
   as one species with three subspecies .

   The Congo species has many differences from the Pavo peafowl, but they
   are nevertheless its closest relatives.

Food

   An Indian Blue Peacock's head
   Enlarge
   An Indian Blue Peacock's head

   Peafowl are omnivorous and consume plant parts, flower petals, seed
   heads, insects, and other arthropods, as well as reptiles and
   amphibians.

   Although possessing metatarsal spurs—"thorns" used for kicking, they
   are used only for defence against predators.

Habitat

   Asiatic peafowl like the Indian Blue Peafowl and especially the Green
   Peafowl occupy a similar niche as the roadrunners, Secretary Bird, and
   Seriema. All of these birds hunt for small animals, minnows, and
   arthropods on the ground, in shallow streams and frequently in tall
   grass habitats. Small snakes and other reptiles are the preferred diet
   of wild peafowl.

   Peafowl inhabit tropical savannah and riparian forests where they hunt
   for small animals in close social units of related birds that may span
   many generations.

Plumage

   Closeup of an Indian Blue Peacock's tail feathers
   Enlarge
   Closeup of an Indian Blue Peacock's tail feathers

   The male (peacock) has beautiful iridescent blue-green or green
   coloured plumage. The so-called "tail" of the peacock, also termed the
   "train," is in fact not the true tail but highly elongated upper tail
   coverts. The train feathers have a series of eyes that are best seen
   when the tail is fanned. Both species have a head crest.

   The female (peahen) has a mixture of dull green, brown, and grey in her
   plumage. She lacks the long tail of the male but has a crest.

   Females can also display their plumage to ward off danger to her young
   or other female competition.

   Many of the brilliant colors of the peacock plumage are due to an
   optical interference phenomenon ( Bragg reflection) based on (nearly)
   periodic nanostructures found in the barbules (fibre-like components)
   of the feathers.

   Different colours correspond to different length scales of the periodic
   structures. For brown feathers, a mixture of red and blue is
   required—one colour is created by the periodic structure, while the
   other is a created by a Fabry-Perot interference peak from reflections
   off the outermost and innermost boundaries of the periodic structure.

   Such interference-based structural colour is especially important in
   producing the peacock's iridescent hues (which shimmer and change with
   viewing angle), since interference effects depend upon the angle of
   light, unlike chemical pigments.

   Peackock Feathers are considered unlucky by actors.

Behaviour

   The peafowl are forest birds that nest on the ground. The Pavo peafowl
   are terrestrial feeders but roost in trees. They are weak fliers.

   Peafowl are considered to be polygamous. However in captivity, Green
   Peafowl and African Peafowl are monogamous, with males assisting in
   nest defense, chick rearing, and chick brooding. The male's bond with
   offspring may extend indefinitely. First-year chicks that have been
   weaned by their mothers generally join their father's social unit to
   forage and rest.

   In Green Peafowl, it is impossible to distinguish juvenile and subadult
   green peafowls from their mothers and hence their polygynous nature is
   hard to establish. There is some anectodotal evidence suggesting that
   Green Peafowl may have very complex social lives that may include the
   adoption of one and two year old juveniles by their three and four year
   old sub-adult siblings.

   Peafowl are unusual amongst the Galliformes in their capacity for
   sustained flight. All known genera of the peafowl family exhibit
   complex flight displays.
   A rear view of an Indian Blue Peacock's tail feathers
   Enlarge
   A rear view of an Indian Blue Peacock's tail feathers

   Each race of the Green Peafowl has its own respective wing shape and
   flight display behaviour. Green Peafowls in Java are often observed
   flying out to sea where the birds gather on islets some miles from
   shore.

   African Peafowl have unusually large wings in relation to their weight.
   The wings have a highly unusual shape as well. The African Peafowl or
   Afropavo wing is prominently marked in both sexes in striking patterns
   and colours.

   All known species of peafowl perch on emergent trees that stand above
   the canopy. Chicks of Indian Peafowl are sometimes carried on the backs
   of the parent birds as they fly into the security of a tree to roost.

Courtship

   Although peafowl are capable of reproducing at the age of 2, peacocks
   do not reach full maturity until one year later. At the age of 2, the
   feathers are not fully developed in length and density. While peacocks
   at that age are physiologically able to mate with peahens, they have
   very little chance of competing with older peacocks with larger
   feathers. At the age of 3, peacocks' feathers reach maximum length for
   their lives, aside from the new feathers that grow after they molt in
   the late summer. The peacock can not begin to reproduce until the early
   fall.

   Mating season starts in the early Spring and ends in the early Autumn.
   The peacock's courtship rituals include the display of its startling
   plumage and a loud call. Recent studies have shown that both the
   frequency and quality of sexual plumage displays by males are reliable
   indicators of the health status of an individual.

Gallery

   An Indian Blue Peacock courts a Peahen

   An Indian Blue Peahen showing her plumage

   Detail of an Indian Blue Peacock’s display

   Side view of an Indian Blue Peacock’s display

   Indian Blue Peacock displays atop a roof at the Toronto Zoo

   Closeup of an Indian Blue Peacock's head

   When it is not in display, the long train rests on the ground and
   hampers the movements of the peacock

   A male Indian Blue Peacock, train "at rest".

   The White Peacock is frequently mistaken for an albino, but it is a
   colour variety of Indian Blue Peacock

   front

   back

   Detail of an Indian Blue Peacock's tail feather

   Peacock posing.

   White Peafowl in the garden of Castle of Pardubice

   Peafowl in the garden of Castle of Pardubice
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peafowl"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
