The Peacock

Peacocks are large birds with an elegant tail and a plumage. The female bird is known as the peahen and together, they are called peafowls. There are three species of peafowls around the world; the Indian peafowl, Green peafowl and the Congo peafowl. The Indian peafowl or the blue peafowl, known as Pavo cristatus scientifically is native to India and Sri Lanka.

The length of a fully grown peacock is about seven feet from its bill to the end of the tail. The peacock has metallic blue colour feathers covering its neck and most parts of the body. The peacock tail which is called the ‘train’ consists of more than 200 colourful feathers with

almost all of them having an ending of an eye-spot. Peacocks elongate this elegant tail and dance to attract peahens.

Peahens are smaller than peacocks and lack a colourful tail. They are only about three to four feet in length. Usually, one peafowl group consists of one peacock and three or four peahens. They make nests mostly on the ground and sometimes on trees. It takes about three years for peachicks to grow a

‘train’. Both peacocks and peahens can fly but not long distances.

They are omnivorous and feed on both plants and small animals including small snakes. Peacocks make loud calls as alarms. White peacocks are not albino peacocks but a result of genetic variants of Indian Peafowls. The peacock is the national bird of India. Peacocks can be spotted in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka including the Yala National Park.