INDIAN BLUE PEACOCK Pavo cristatus ©Laura Quick
1. Only the males are actually “peacocks.”
The collective term for these birds is “peafowl.” The males are “peacocks” and the females are “peahens.” The babies are called “peachicks.”
2. A family of peafowl is called a “bevy.”
A group of the birds is also sometimes called an “ostentation,” a "muster,” or even a “party.”
3. They’re not born with their fancy tail feathers.
The male peachicks don’t start growing their showy trains until about age three.
4. They don’t have to be killed for their feathers.
Luckily, the peacocks shed their train every year after mating season. The average lifespan of a peacock in the wild is about 20 years.
5. They can fly, despite their massive trains.
A peacock’s tail feathers can reach up to 6′ long and make up about 60% of its body length. Despite these odd proportions, the bird flies just fine.
6. There are all-white peafowl.
It’s common for captive peafowl to buck the iridescent trend for all white feathers. This is called leucism, and it’s due to a genetic mutation that causes loss of pigmentation. These peafowl are often mistaken for being albino, but instead of having red eyes, animals with leucism retain their normal eye color.
7. Peacocks were a delicacy in medieval times.
The birds were plucked, roasted and then re-dressed in their feathers to appear in their original live state on the dinner table. Source
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