Peafowl

Peafowl is a common name for two bird species in the

genera Pavo and Afropavo within the tribe Pavonini of the Peafowl
family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male Temporal range: Late Pliocene – present
peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are
referred to as peahens, although peafowl of either sex are
often referred to colloquially as "peacocks".

The two Asiatic species are the blue or Indian peafowl

originally from the Indian subcontinent, and the green
peafowl from Southeast Asia; The Congo peafowl is not a
true peafowl, native only to the Congo Basin. Male peafowl
are known for their piercing calls and their extravagant Indian peacock displaying his train
plumage. The latter is especially prominent in the Asiatic
Scientific classification
species, which have an eye-spotted "tail" or "train" of covert
feathers, which they display as part of a courtship ritual. Domain: Eukaryota

The functions of the elaborate iridescent colouration and Kingdom: Animalia

large "train" of peacocks have been the subject of extensive Phylum: Chordata
scientific debate. Charles Darwin suggested that they served
to attract females, and the showy features of the males had Class: Aves
evolved by sexual selection. More recently, Amotz Zahavi Order: Galliformes
proposed in his handicap principle that these features acted
as honest signals of the males' fitness, since less-fit males Family: Phasianidae
would be disadvantaged by the difficulty of surviving with Subfamily: Phasianinae
such large and conspicuous structures.
Tribe: Pavonini
A group of peacocks is called an "ostentation" or a Groups included
"muster".[1]
Pavo
Description Afropavo

The Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) has iridescent blue and Cladistically included but
green plumage, mostly metal-like blue and green. In both traditionally excluded taxa
species, females are a little smaller than males in terms of
weight and wingspan, but males are significantly longer due Rheinardia
[2]
to the "tail", also known as a "train". The peacock train Argusianus
consists not of tail quill feathers, but highly elongated upper
tail coverts. These feathers are marked with eyespots, best Tropicoperdix
seen when a peacock fans his tail. All species have a crest
atop the head. The Indian peahen has a mixture of dull grey, brown, and green in her plumage. The
female also displays her plumage to ward off female competition or signal danger to her young.

Male green peafowl (Pavo muticus) have green and bronze or gold plumage, and black wings with
a sheen of blue. Unlike Indian peafowl, the green peahen is similar to the male, but has shorter
upper tail coverts, a more coppery neck, and overall less iridescence. Both males and females have
spurs.[3]
The Congo peacock (Afropavo congensis) male does not
display his covert feathers, but uses his actual tail feathers
during courtship displays. These feathers are much shorter
than those of the Indian and green species, and the ocelli are
much less pronounced. Females of the Indian and African
species are dull grey and/or brown.

Chicks of both sexes in all the species are cryptically coloured. A peacock spreading his tail,
They vary between yellow and tawny, usually with patches of displaying his plumage
darker brown or light tan and "dirty white" ivory.

Mature peahens have been recorded as suddenly growing

typically male peacock plumage and making male calls.[4]
Research has suggested that changes in mature birds are due to
a lack of estrogen from old or damaged ovaries, and that male
plumage and calls are the default unless hormonally
suppressed.[5]

Iridescence and structural colouration

As with many birds, vibrant iridescent plumage colours are not

primarily pigments, but structural colouration. Optical
interference Bragg reflections, based on regular, periodic
nanostructures of the barbules (fiber-like components) of the
feathers, produce the peacock's colours. 2D photonic-crystal
structures within the layers of the barbules cause the
colouration of their feathers.[6] Slight changes to the spacing of
the barbules result in different colours. Brown feathers are a
mixture of red and blue: one colour is created by the periodic
structure and the other is created by a Fabry–Pérot
interference peak from reflections from the outer and inner
boundaries. Color derived from physical structure rather than
pigment can vary with viewing angle, causing iridescence.[7]

Courtship

Most commonly, during a courtship display, the visiting female

peahen will stop directly in front of the male peacock – thus
providing her the ability to assess the male at 90° to the surface
of the feather. Then, the male will turn and display his feathers
about 45° to the right of the sun's azimuth which allows the Peafowl eggs
sunlight to accentuate the iridescence of his train. If the female
chooses to interact with the male, he will then turn to face her
and shiver his train so as to begin the mating process.[8]

Evolution

Sexual selection

Charles Darwin suggested in The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex that peafowl
plumage may have evolved through sexual selection:
 Many female progenitors of the peacock must,
during a long line of descent, have appreciated this
superiority; for they have unconsciously, by the
continued preference for the most beautiful males,
rendered the peacock the most splendid of living
birds.

Peachick
Aposematism and natural selection

It has been suggested that a peacock's train, loud call, and

fearless behaviour have been formed by natural selection (with
or without sexual selection too), and served as an aposematic
display to intimidate predators and rivals.[9][10] This
hypothesis is designed to explain Takahashi's observations that
in Japan, neither reproductive success nor physical condition
correlates with the train's length, symmetry or number of
eyespots.[11]
Head of adult peacock

Female choice

Multiple hypotheses involving female choice have been posited.

One hypothesis is that females choose mates with good genes.
Males with more exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics,
such as bigger, brighter peacock trains, tend to have better
genes in the peahen's eyes.[12] These better genes directly
benefit her offspring, as well as her fitness and reproductive
success.

Runaway selection is another hypothesis. In runaway sexual A female peafowl, or peahen,

selection, linked genes in males and females code for sexually walking freely around a zoo.
dimorphic traits in males, and preference for those traits in
females.[13] The close spatial association of alleles for loci
involved in the train in males, and for preference for more
exuberant trains in females, on the chromosome (linkage
disequilibrium) causes a positive feedback loop that
exaggerates both the male traits and the female preferences.

Another hypothesis is sensory bias, in which females have a

preference for a trait in a nonmating context that becomes
transferred to mating, such as Merle Jacobs' food-courtship 1:13
hypothesis, which suggests that peahens are attracted to
peacocks for the resemblance of their eye spots to blue Video analysis of the mechanisms
berries.[14] behind the display.

Multiple causality for the evolution of female choice is also

possible.

The peacock's train and iridescent plumage are perhaps the best-known example of traits believed
to have arisen through sexual selection, though with some controversy.[15] Male peafowl erect their
trains to form a shimmering fan in their display to females. Marion Petrie tested whether or not
these displays signalled a male's genetic quality by studying a feral population of peafowl in
Whipsnade Wildlife Park in southern England. The number of eyespots in the train predicted a
 male's mating success. She
was able to manipulate this
success by cutting the
eyespots off some of the
males' tails:[16] females lost
interest in pruned males
and became attracted to
untrimmed ones. Males
with fewer eyespots, thus
Peacock (seen from behind) with lower mating success,
displaying to attract peahen in suffered from greater
predation. [17] She allowed
foreground.
females to mate with males
with differing numbers of
eyespots, and reared the offspring in a communal incubator to
control for differences in maternal care. Chicks fathered by
more ornamented males weighed more than those fathered by
less ornamented males, an attribute generally associated with
better survival rate in birds. These chicks were released into the Peacock from behind.
park and recaptured one year later. Those with heavily
ornamented feathers were better able to avoid predators and
survive in natural conditions.[18] Thus, Petrie's work shows correlations between tail
ornamentation, mating success, and increased survival ability in both the ornamented males and
their offspring.

Furthermore, peafowl and their sexual characteristics have

been used in the discussion of the causes for sexual traits.
Amotz Zahavi used the excessive tail plumes of male peafowls
as evidence for his "handicap principle".[19] Since these trains
are likely to be deleterious to an individual's survival (as their
brilliance makes them more visible to predators and their
length hinders escape from danger), Zahavi argued that only
the fittest males could survive the handicap of a large train. A peacock in flight: Zahavi argued
Thus, a brilliant train serves as an honest indicator for females that the long train would be a
that these highly ornamented males are good at surviving for handicap.
other reasons, so are preferable mates. [20] This theory may be
contrasted with Ronald Fisher's hypothesis that male sexual
traits are the result of initially arbitrary aesthetic selection by females.

In contrast to Petrie's findings, a seven-year Japanese study of free-ranging peafowl concluded that
female peafowl do not select mates solely on the basis of their trains. Mariko Takahashi found no
evidence that peahens preferred peacocks with more elaborate trains (such as with more eyespots),
a more symmetrical arrangement, or a greater length.[11] Takahashi determined that the peacock's
train was not the universal target of female mate choice, showed little variance across male
populations, and did not correlate with male physiological condition. Adeline Loyau and her
colleagues responded that alternative and possibly central explanations for these results had been
overlooked.[21] They concluded that female choice might indeed vary in different ecological
conditions.

Plumage colours as attractants

A peacock's copulation success rate depends on the colours of his
eyespots (ocelli) and the angle at which they are displayed. The angle
at which the ocelli are displayed during courtship is more important in
a peahen's choice of males than train size or number of ocelli.[22]
Peahens pay careful attention to the different parts of a peacock's train
during his display. The lower train is usually evaluated during close-
up courtship, while the upper train is more of a long-distance
attraction signal. Actions such as train rattling and wing shaking also
kept the peahens' attention.[23]

Redundant signal hypothesis

Although an intricate display catches a peahen's attention, the Eyespot on a peacock's

redundant signal hypothesis also plays a crucial role in keeping this train feather.
attention on the peacock's display. The redundant signal hypothesis
explains that whilst each signal that a male projects is about the same
quality, the addition of multiple signals enhances the reliability of that mate. This idea also
suggests that the success of multiple signalling is not only due to the repetitiveness of the signal,
but also of multiple receivers of the signal. In the peacock species, males congregate a communal
display during breeding season and the peahens observe. Peacocks first defend their territory
through intra-sexual behaviour, defending their areas from intruders. They fight for areas within
the congregation to display a strong front for the peahens. Central positions are usually taken by
older, dominant males, which influences mating success. Certain morphological and behavioural
traits come in to play during inter and intra-sexual selection, which include train length for
territory acquisition and visual and vocal displays involved in mate choice by peahens.[24]

Behaviour
Peafowl are forest birds that nest on the ground, but roost in
trees. They are terrestrial feeders. All species of peafowl are
believed to be polygamous. In common with other members of
Peacock sitting.
the Galliformes, the males possess metatarsal spurs or "thorns"
on their legs used during intraspecific territorial fights with
some other members of their kind.

Pavo cristatus vocalisation

0:15

Problems playing this file? See media help.

In courtship, vocalisation stands to be a primary way for peacocks to attract peahens. Some studies
suggest that the intricacy of the "song" produced by displaying peacocks proved to be impressive to
peafowl. Singing in peacocks usually occurs just before, just after, or sometimes during
copulation.[25]

Diet
Peafowl are omnivores and mostly eat plants, flower petals, seed heads, insects and other
arthropods, reptiles, and amphibians. Wild peafowl look for their food scratching around in leaf
litter either early in the morning or at dusk. They retreat to the shade and security of the woods for
the hottest portion of the day. These birds are not picky and
will eat almost anything they can fit in their beak and digest.
They actively hunt insects like ants, crickets and termites;
millipedes; and other arthropods and small mammals.[26]
Indian peafowl also eat small snakes.[27]

Domesticated peafowl may also eat bread and cracked grain

such as oats and corn, cheese, cooked rice and sometimes cat
food. It has been noticed by keepers that peafowl enjoy protein- A green peafowl (Pavo muticus).
rich food including larvae that infest granaries, different kinds
of meat and fruit, as well as vegetables including dark leafy
greens, broccoli, carrots, beans, beets, and peas.[28]

Cultural significance

Indian peafowl

The peafowl is native to India and significant in its culture. In

Hinduism, the Indian peacock is the mount of the god of war,
Kartikeya, and the warrior goddess Kaumari, and is also
depicted around the goddess Santoshi.[29] During a war with
Asuras, Kartikeya split the demon king Surapadman in half.
Out of respect for his adversary's prowess in battle, the god
converted the two halves into an integral part of himself. One
half became a peacock serving as his mount, and the other a
rooster adorning his flag. The peacock displays the divine
shape of Omkara when it spreads its magnificent plumes into a
full-blown circular form.[30] Peacock feathers also adorn the
crest of the god Krishna.

Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire,

was born an orphan and raised by a family farming peacocks.
According to the Buddhist tradition, the ancestors of the
The Hindu god Kartikeya with his
Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (mora in
wives on his peacock mount.
Pali) were abundant. Therefore, they came to be known as
"Moriyas", literally, "belonging to the place of peacocks".
According to another Buddhist account, these ancestors built a
city called Moriya-nagara ("Moriya-city"), which was so called, because it was built with the "bricks
coloured like peacocks' necks".[31] After conquering the Nanda Empire and defeating the Seleucid
Empire, the Chandragupta dynasty reigned uncontested during its time. Its royal emblem
remained the peacock until Emperor Ashoka changed it to a lion, as seen in the Lion Capital of
Ashoka, as well in his edicts. The peacock continued to represent elegance and royalty in India
during medieval times; for instance, the Mughal seat of power was called the Peacock Throne.

The peacock is represented in both the Burmese and Sinhalese zodiacs. To the Sinhalese people,
the peacock is the third animal of the zodiac of Sri Lanka.[32]

Peacocks (often a symbol of pride and vanity) were believed to deliberately consume poisonous
substances in order to become immune to them, as well as to make the colours of their resplendent
plumage all the more vibrant – seeing as so many poisonous flora and fauna are so colourful due to
aposematism, this idea appears to have merit. The Buddhist deity Mahamayuri is depicted seated
on a peacock. Peacocks are seen supporting the throne of Amitabha, the ruby red sunset coloured
archetypal Buddha of Infinite Light.
India adopted the peacock as its national bird in 1963 and it is one of the national symbols of
India.[33]

Middle East

Yazidism

Tawûsî Melek (lit. 'Peacock Angel')[34][35][36][37] is one of the central figures of the Yazidi religion,
is symbolized with a peacock.[38][34] In Yazidi creation stories, before the creation of this world,
God created seven Divine Beings, of whom Tawûsî Melek was appointed as the leader. God
assigned all of the world's affairs to these seven Divine Beings, also often referred to as the Seven
Angels or heft sirr ("the Seven Mysteries").[38][39][40][41]

In Yazidism, the Peacock, which Tawûsî Melek is symbolised with, is believed to represent the
diversity of the World,[42] and the colourfulness of the Peacock's feathers is considered to
represent of all the colours of the nature. The feathers of the peacock also symbolize sunrays, from
which comes light, luminosity and brightness, and the peacock opening its feathers of its tail in a
circular shape symbolizes the sunrise.[43]

Consequently, due to its holiness, Yazidis are not allowed to hunt and eat the peacock, ill-treat it
and utter bad words about it. Images of the peacock are also found drawn around the sanctuary of
Lalish and on other Yazidi shrines and holy sites, homes, as well as religious, social, cultural and
academic centres.[43]

Mandaeism

In The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa, the Mandaean uthra and emanation Yushamin is described as a
peacock.[44]

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greeks believed that the flesh of peafowl did not decay
after death, so it became a symbol of immortality. In
Hellenistic imagery, the Greek goddess Hera's chariot was
pulled by peacocks, birds not known to Greeks before the
conquests of Alexander. Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, refers to it
as "the Persian bird". When Alexander saw the birds in India,
he was so amazed at their beauty that he threatened the
severest penalties for any man who slew one.[45] Claudius A peacock walking freely around a
Aelianus writes that there were peacocks in India, larger than zoo.
anywhere else.[46]

One myth states that Hera's servant, the hundred-eyed Argus Panoptes, was instructed to guard
the woman-turned-cow, Io. Hera had transformed Io into a cow after learning of Zeus's interest in
her. Zeus had the messenger of the gods, Hermes, kill Argus through eternal sleep and free Io.
According to Ovid, to commemorate her faithful watchman, Hera had the hundred eyes of Argus
preserved forever, in the peacock's tail.[47]

Christianity
The symbolism was adopted by early Christianity, thus many early Christian paintings and mosaics
show the peacock.[48] The peacock is still used in the Easter season, especially in the east. The
"eyes" in the peacock's tail feathers can symbolise the all-seeing Christian God,[49] the Church,[50]
or angelic wisdom.[51] The emblem of a pair of peacocks drinking from a vase is used as a symbol of
the eucharist and the resurrection, as it represents the Christian believer drinking from the waters
of eternal life.[52] The peacock can also symbolise the cosmos if one interprets its tail with its many
"eyes" as the vault of heaven dotted by the sun, moon, and stars.[53] Due to the adoption by
Augustine of the ancient idea that the peacock's flesh did not decay, the bird was again associated
with immortality.[50][52] In Christian iconography, two peacocks are often depicted either side of
the Tree of Life.[54]

Judaism

Among Ashkenazi Jews, the golden peacock is a symbol for joy and creativity, with quills from the
bird's feathers being a metaphor for a writer's inspiration.[55]

Renaissance

The peacock motif was revived in the Renaissance iconography that unified Hera and Juno, and on
which European painters focused.[56]

Contemporary

In 1956, John J. Graham created an abstraction of an 11-feathered peacock logo for American
broadcaster NBC. This brightly hued peacock was adopted due to the increase in colour
programming. NBC's first colour broadcasts showed only a still frame of the colourful peacock. The
emblem made its first on-air appearance on 22 May 1956.[57] The current, six-feathered logo
debuted on 12 May 1986.
Stone from Mingachevir Church
Complex (4th-7th century AD).
Peacock by Merab Abramishvili
(1957–2006).
Roundel with dragon design.
China, Qing-dynasty, late 17th
century. Peacock feather
barbules are used to highlight the
dragon's scales.
Annunciation with St. Emidius
(1486) by Carlo Crivelli. A
peacock is sitting on the roof
above the praying Virgin Mary.
 Painting by Abbott Thayer and Common peafowl, by John Gould,
Richard Meryman for Thayer's c. 1880. Brooklyn Museum.
1909 book, wrongly suggesting
that the peacock's plumage was
camouflage.

Syrian bowl with peacock motif, Peacock sculpture at

circa 1200. Brooklyn Museum. Golingeshwara temple complex in
Biccavolu, India.

Breeding and colour variations

Hybrids between Indian peafowl and Green peafowl are called
Spaldings, after the first person to successfully hybridise them,
Keith Spalding. Spaldings with a high-green phenotype do
much better in cold temperatures than the cold-intolerant
green peafowl while still looking like their green parents.
Plumage varies between individual spaldings, with some
looking far more like green peafowl and some looking far more
like blue peafowl, though most visually carry traits of both.

In addition to the wild-type "blue" colouration, several hundred A leucistic Indian peacock
variations in colour and pattern are recognised as separate
morphs of the Indian Blue among peafowl breeders. Pattern
variations include solid-wing/black shoulder (the black and brown stripes on the wing are instead
one solid colour), pied, white-eye (the ocelli in a male's eye feathers have white spots instead of
black), and silver pied (a mostly white bird with small patches of colour). Colour variations include
white, purple, Buford bronze, opal, midnight, charcoal, jade, and taupe, as well as the sex-linked