Many people refer to these majestic creatures as peacocks but did you know that is actually the name for the male of the species? These birds are called peafowl with the males known as peacocks and the females being peahens. Here are ten more fascinating facts about these incredible birds…
1) Peacocks fan out their lengthy feathered trains, which can measure up to 2.2 metres long, to attract the females. Their “eye-spots” are called ocelli.
2) Peacocks shed their train in January but this grows back rapidly ahead of the breeding season, which is from June to December.
3) The peafowl is a species of pheasant – a type of long-tailed, large gamebird.
4) Peafowl spend their nights sleeping perched in a tree to protect them from predators.
5) A group of peafowl is known as a pride, party, muster or ostentation.
6) Peahens lay between three to five eggs at a time and raise their young alone, without male intervention.
7) There are three species of peacock – the blue peacock found in Sri Lanka and India, the green peacock, which lives in Myanmar (Burma) and Java, and the rarer Congo peacock, that lives in African rainforests.
8) Both peacocks and peahens have 2.5cm long spurs on their legs. Males will use them to ward off any competition during mating season.
9) When peafowl chicks hatch, they are light yellow to brown in colour.
10) White peafowl are not albino peacocks, they are their own variation of Indian blue peafowl known as white feathered peafowl.
Freelance wildlife writer, editor, and proofreader. 