| Peacock | ||||||||||||
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An Indian Peacock displaying. | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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Pavo cristatus
Pavo muticus Reference: World Birds Taxonomic List as of 2003-02-21 | ||||||||||||
The peafowl are the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
They are most notable for the male's extravagant tail, which it displays as part of a mating ritual and to attract attention. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen.
Male peacocks are a beautiful iridescent blue-green colour, and their tails have a series of 'eyes' that are displayed when he fans his tail.
The female plumage is a mixture of dull green and iridescent blue, with the greenish-grey predominating. They lack the long tails of the male.
The Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, is native to that country and Sri Lanka. The Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus, breeds from Myanmar east to Java. The two species will hybridise.
Indian Peahen with chicks