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Indian Peafowl - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 21:37, 14 September 2017 by Deliatodd-18346 (talk | contribs) (References updated)
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Adult Male
Photo by Sumit
Sariska National Park, India, April 2001

Alternative name: Common Peafowl

Pavo cristatus

Identification

Male; 180–230 cm (80-90½ in); female 90–100 cm (35½-40 in)
Male tail very long in breeding plumage 140–160 cm (50-63 in)

  • Bluey-green overall plumage

Female Long tail 32·5–37·5 (12¾-14¾)

  • Dull greenish-grey plumage, with some iridescent blue

Distribution

Asia: found in East Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.
A popular cagebird for centuries and therefore feral populations are found in different places in the world.

Taxonomy

Female
Photo by ariban
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India; 8 August 2012

Traditionally believed to be monotypic[1]; but birds of Sri Lanka have been suggested as a second subspecies.

Habitat

Dry semi-desert grasslands, scrub and deciduous forests.

Behaviour

They forage and nests on the ground but roost high in the trees.

Breeding

Eggs are laid on alternate days; the clutch consisting of 4-8 light brown eggs. Incubation is by the female alone and lasts for about 28 days. The male takes no part in raising the young as he is Polygynous with up to six hens.

Diet

Male dancing
Photo by Alok Tewari
Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park, India, July 2015

They are an omnivorous species, eating seeds and green plants, fruit and berries, insects, some reptiles, including small snakes.

Vocalisation

Calls by many adults in early morning chorus during Monsoon.
<flashmp3>Indian_peafowl_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park, India, July-2015
Call given by one male, early summer.
<flashmp3>Indianpeafowl_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park, India, April-2012
Both recordings by Alok Tewari

Gallery

Click images to see larger version

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2015)
  3. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links


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