The peacock refers to a male peafowl whilst the female is called a peahen, their babies are called peachicks; there are three species of peafowls known, the Indian, Green and Congo, indigenous to India, Australia and Africa.
The peacock is famous for the patch beneath its eye, an elongated slender neck, colorful feathers and elegant eye spotted tail. Whilst the lesser known peahen is sometimes brown and/ or grey and its feathers not as bright and colorful as the peacock’s. Peahens may have yellow, green, tawny-brown dotted colored feathers.
The peacock’s bright feathers are most elegantly displayed in a dance to attract peahens, the colors of its tail feathers are created from reflections emanating from different angles. Its tail when fanned directs sound to its ears and exposes the “eyes” on its tail. The peahen only displays her feathers to fend off danger to her young and ward off other female competitors.
Peacocks are really big birds that can fly but they rarely do, only doing so to get away from predators or to rest on trees. Their tails may be as long 5 feet and can measure from 30 to 50 inches with a weight between 8.75 and 13/14 pounds.
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Peafowl’s are generally considered telluric and omnivorous feeders. Their diet gotten from scratching the earth’s surface with their feet’s and comprises of both plants and animals, ranging from seeds, flower petals, grains insects and smaller reptiles. Their life span ranges from twenty to twenty five years.
Peafowl’s are social animals that cherish belonging to a pride or party. However most males do not get along. It is accepted that two species of peafowl’s are polygamous expect the green which is monogamous in the wild.
Presently and in the past, in most places peafowl’s were/are considered a delicacy, and were/are domesticated and bred mainly for this purpose, however most nations have enacted strict wild life protection laws against hunting of peafowl’s, for example the Indian wild life (Protection) Act, of 1972. In some nations like Japan, England and America, where peafowl’s are not indigenous to, they have bred and overtime established a stable and sizeable population of peafowls that roam urban areas freely as they are protected by the law.
Mans fascination with the peacock and its plumage has lasted for thousands of years and is imprinted in many cultures around the world. This relationship continues today, with the peacock being the national bird of India and also depicted in the logos of the Pakistan Television Corporation and American broadcaster NBC which also has a slogan “We‘re proud as a peacock”. It is also considered to be a scared animal and is revered in different religions as symbolic for a range of qualities, such as benevolent, patient, kind, compassionate, knowledgeable , love, watchful, good-will, nurturing, kind-heartedness and royalty.
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Naturally as it has been for years with many people and cultures, students are eagerly interested in peacocks, they love its bright colors and intriguing nature. Although peacocks are not known to display any aggressive nature toward human beings, it is important for anyone introducing students to a peacock to take all the necessary safety precautions and teach the students about the peacock in simple, interactive language.