About Indian Peacock :
The male Indian Peafowl, commonly known as the peacock, is one of the most
recognizable birds in the world. These large, brightly colored birds have a
distinctive crest and an unmistakable ornamental train. The train (1.4-1.6
meters in length) accounts for more than 60% of their total body length (2.3
meters). Combined with a large wingspan (1.4-1.6 meters), this train makes
the male peafowl one of the largest flying birds in the world. The train is
formed by 100-150 highly specialized uppertail-coverts. Each of these
feathers sports an ornamental ocellus, or eye-spot, and has long
disintegrated barbs, giving the feathers a loose, fluffy appearance. When
displaying to a female, the peacock erects this train into a spectacular
fan, displaying the ocelli to their best advantage.
The
more subtly colored female Peafowl is mostly brown above with a white belly.
Her ornamentation is limited to a prominent crest and green neck feathers.
Though females (2.75-4.0 kg) weigh nearly as much as the males (4.0-6.0 kg),
they rarely exceed 1.0 meter in total body length.
The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus (Linnaeus), the national bird of India,
is a colourful, swan-sized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a
white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The peacock is widely
found in the Indian sub-continent from the south and east of the Indus
river, Jammu and Kashmir, east Assam, south Mizoram and the whole of the
Indian peninsula. The peacock enjoys immense protection. It is fully
protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection) Act, 1972.
Indian Peafowl do most of their foraging in the early morning and shortly
before sunset. They retreat to the shade and security of the forest for the
hottest portion of the day. Foods include grains, insects, small reptiles,
small mammals, berries, drupes, wild figs, and some cultivated crops.
