My Curious and Social Peafowl
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, the peafowl are loving their newfound freedom.
Peafowl are very social birds - they usually travel in groups, enjoy exploring, and often play together, especially under the sunlight. They are also very loyal and tend to stay where they are well-fed and well-protected at night. I now have 17 of these magnificent birds. They live in a very safe and comfortable pen near my stable, where they get lots of attention from visiting friends. Recently, I started letting them out of their pen for a few hours during the day to roam and explore the property. And then just before sundown, they are led back to their coop for the night.
Enjoy these photos.
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- My peafowl are let out of their pen by late morning after all the dogs and cats have been exercised. I always call out to them whenever I drive by… and they always answer.
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- Here are two of my 17 peafowl in front of my stable. Peafowl are happiest when living in small groups. They often walk around following each other.
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- Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests.
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- They are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains and small creatures. Here they have found the wild bird seed that has fallen from the feeders above.
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- Peafowl are very smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever. It is not unusual for peafowl to come running when the food appears. Here is one jumping off a perch and back onto the ground.
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- The peafowl love coming up to my terrace parterre – they come looking for me every day. Remember, only the males are peacocks. The females are peahens, and both are called peafowl. Babies are peachicks. A family of peafowl is called a bevy. This is a male peacock. The peacock doesn’t grow its first train until three. And even then, it won’t be full grown or have showy ocelli. The train gets longer and more elaborate every year until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor.
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- The train of a peacock is used for mating and defense. Male peacocks attract female peacocks by showing off this array of elaborate feathers. When threatened, they also fan their tails out in order to look larger and intimidating. This peacock is very content resting on this bench on my terrace.
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- Here is a closer look at the mature male’s beautiful long tail with its elaborately colored feathers. The giant tail feathers are called coverts. They spread out in a distinctive train over more than 60 percent of the peacock’s body length. It has vibrant eye shaped markings in blue, green, gold, and other colors. Microscopic, crystal-like structures in the feathers reflect different wavelengths of light creating the bright, fluorescent hues.
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- Female peacocks are more dull brown in color.
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- This peahen has a green neck. As beautiful as peafowl are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowl have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. And, with their sharp eyesight, peafowl are quick to see predators and call out alarms. Oftentimes, I can hear them from across the farm.
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- Both male and female peafowl have a fan-shaped crest on their heads called a corona. It may take up to one year for a corona to reach full size.
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- And look at its feet. A peafowl’s legs are very strong. They have three toes on each foot facing forward, and one facing backwards. They also have sharp, powerful metatarsal spurs that are used for defense. Also, as they develop, males will tend to have longer legs than females.
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- Peafowl also have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.
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- This one has a gorgeous royal blue neck. Some will be more tame and more friendly than others. Since most of them have grown up here at the farm, they aren’t shy at all. In fact, the peafowl are all very accustomed to all the visits.
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- And here is an all-white peacock. He seems to be the leader of the group – wherever he goes, the rest will follow.
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- Here they are on the wall in front of my Winter House kitchen – just watching all the activity around the farm.
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- Peafowl will look at you in the eye; however, if you stare at them or seem aggressive in your body movements, these birds will feel threatened. Talking softly and keeping eyes averted tells them you are not a predator.
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- Peacocks are one of the loudest animals on earth, calling out to each other during the morning and late evening. Peacocks make meowing sounds when it is going to rain. They also make alarm calls when they sense danger. This one is looking out over the paddocks from the burlap covered urn.
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- While peafowl are ground feeders and ground nesters, they still enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. Here are three perched on the fence of my flower cutting garden.
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- Most peacocks will do all their exploring on foot. I am so pleased with how happy they are here at my farm. My ostentation of peafowl is growing and thriving. This peacock is heading down the carriage road back to his pen – it must be time for supper.
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