Sammy
Sex: Male
Birthday: April 16, 2017
Showed up at upper zoo grounds. Suspected was dumped by someone.
Domestic Peafowl
Marilyn
Sex: Male
Birthday: April 15, 2013
Donated by a local family.
Fred
Sex: Male
Birthday: April 15, 2013
Donated by a local family.
Domestic Peafowl (Phasianinae Pavovini)
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Phasianinae
Species: Phasianinae Pavovini
Conservation Status in Idaho
Least concern
Range and Habitat
Peafowl are native to Sri Lanka and India, where they are the national bird. They live in open forests near streams, and are also found in cultivated areas and around Buddhist and Hindu temples. Both the blue peacock and green peacock inhabit open lowland forests, as well as farms and agricultural fields. They can be found in both tropical and dry habitats. Even in their natural range, these birds roam in cities and parks in search of food.
Physical Features
Males boast extravagant colors, elaborate feathers, showy displays or all three. Elongated upper tail feathers form the 5-foot (1.7-meter) train for which the peacock is famous. These feathers are metallic green, and are decorated with iridescent ocelli, or eyespots, ringed with blue and bronze. A male may sport from 100-175 ocelli — the fanned train display is designed to show off every one. Females, also called peahens, are smaller and more drably colored, with a shorter train that lacks ocelli. Peafowl are the largest members of the pheasant family. At up to 13 pounds (6 kilograms), peafowl are among the heaviest of flying birds, although they prefer walking and running to flying.
Diet
Peafowl are omnivorous. They forage on the ground for diverse food items, including berries and other fruits, grain and green crops, insects, and small reptiles, mammals and snakes.
Lifespan
In the wild, peafowl live 10 to 25 years. Domesticated peafowl have been known to live as long as 40 to 50 years.
Reproduction
Females select mates based on the number of ocelli in their tail. Male peacocks with the greatest number of ocelli win the most females. The number of ocelli and the length of the train feathers increase between the ages of four and 12, so scientists speculate that these traits broadcast a male’s age and perhaps also his vigor and status.
The peahen lays four to eight eggs in a depression scratched on the ground and hidden among vegetation. Males don’t share in parental care. Females alone incubate the eggs for about 30 days. Young hatch fully-formed and can run and feed themselves almost immediately after hatching.
Social Behavior and Interaction
Peacocks form leks — aggregations of very small territories, each owned by one male. The males display by shaking their fanned trains to reinforce the effect for any females visiting the lek, making it easy for a female to assess several males before choosing one to mate with.
Major Threats
Overhunting and habitat loss led to the decline of the peacock’s population during the latter half of the 20th century. The species is now thought to number between 10,000 and 20,000 adults.