View source for Peafowl

{{Short description|Group of large game birds}}
{{Redirect|Peacock|the streaming service|Peacock (streaming service)|other uses|Peacock (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|3|0}}<small>Late [[Pliocene]] – present</small>
| image = Peacock Plumage.jpg
| image_caption = [[Indian peafowl|Indian peacock]] displaying his train
| parent = Pavonini
| includes = * ''[[Pavo (bird)|Pavo]]''
* ''[[Afropavo]]''
| excludes = * ''[[Rheinardia]]''
* ''[[Argusianus]]''
}}
[[File:The Magnificent Peafowl.jpg|thumb|A peacock spreading his tail, displaying his plumage]]
[[File:Female Pefowl 001.jpg|thumb|Peahen]]
'''Peafowl''' is a common name for two bird species of the genus ''[[Pavo (bird)|Pavo]]'' and one species of the closely related genus ''[[Afropavo]]'' within the tribe [[Pavonini]] of the family [[Phasianidae]] (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred to as '''peacocks''', and female peafowl are referred to as '''peahens.'''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-02 |title=Peacock {{!}} Facts & Habitat {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/peacock |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Despite this, peacock is usually used to refer to both sexes, in common language.

The two Asiatic species are the blue or [[Indian peafowl]] originally from the [[Indian subcontinent]], and the [[green peafowl]] from Southeast Asia. The third peafowl species, the [[Congo peafowl]], is native only to the [[Congo Basin]]. Male peafowl are known for their piercing calls and their extravagant plumage. The latter is especially prominent in the Asiatic species, which have an eye-spotted "tail" or "train" of [[covert feathers]], which they display as part of a [[Courtship (animals)|courtship]] ritual.

The functions of the elaborate [[iridescent]] coloration and large "train" of peacocks have been the subject of extensive scientific debate. [[Charles Darwin]] suggested that they served to attract females, and the showy features of the males had evolved by [[sexual selection]]. More recently, [[Amotz Zahavi]] proposed in his [[handicap principle]] that these features [[Signalling theory|acted as honest signals]] of the males' fitness, since less-fit males would be disadvantaged by the difficulty of surviving with such large and conspicuous structures.

== Description ==
[[File:Eggs of Peafowl at Aravath Kasaragod.jpg|thumb|Peafowl eggs]] 
[[File:Baby Peacock (18131813108).jpg|thumb|Peachick]]
[[File:Peacock-JS.jpg|thumb|Head of adult peacock]]
[[File:Peahen at the zoo.jpg|thumb|A female peafowl, or peahen, walking freely around a zoo]]
[[File:Biomechanics-of-the-Peacocks-Display-How-Feather-Structure-and-Resonance-Influence-Multimodal-pone.0152759.s002.ogv|thumb|Video analysis of the mechanisms behind the display]]

The Indian peacock (''Pavo cristatus'') has iridescent blue and green plumage, mostly metal-like blue and green. In both species, females are a little smaller than males in terms of weight and wingspan, but males are significantly longer due to the "tail", also known as a "train".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/peafowl|title=Peafowl |date=2021 |website=San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants |publisher=[[San Diego Zoo]] |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305142514/https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/peafowl |url-status=live}}</ref> The peacock train consists not of tail quill feathers but highly elongated upper tail coverts. These feathers are marked with eyespots, best 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]]s (''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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Darwin |year=1871 |title=The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2300/pg2300-images.html |access-date=24 May 2023 |via=Gutenberg.org |language=en |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429085429/https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2300/pg2300-images.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2024}}

The [[Congo peafowl|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 colored. They vary between yellow and tawny, usually with patches of 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=T. H. |title=Sex inversion in the peafowl |journal=Journal of Heredity |date=July 1942 |volume=33 |issue=7 |pages=247–248 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a105182 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Inglis-Arkell |first1=Esther |title=The long-running mystery of why birds seemingly change sex |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-long-running-mystery-of-why-birds-seemingly-change-493154825 |work=io9 |date=7 May 2013 |access-date=18 July 2020 |archive-date=19 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719055312/https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-long-running-mystery-of-why-birds-seemingly-change-493154825 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Iridescence and structural coloration ===
{{further|Iridescence|Structural colouration}}

As with many birds, vibrant iridescent plumage colors are not primarily [[pigment]]s, but [[structural coloration]]. Optical [[Wave interference|interference]] of [[Bragg reflections]], from regular, periodic nanostructures of the [[barbule]]s (fiber-like components) of the feathers, produce the peacock's colors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zi |first1=Jian |last2=Yu |first2=Xindi |last3=Li |first3=Yizhou |last4=Hu |first4=Xinhua |last5=Xu |first5=Chun |last6=Wang |first6=Xingjun |last7=Liu |first7=Xiaohan |last8=Fu |first8=Rongtang |date=28 October 2003 |title=Coloration strategies in peacock feathers |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=100 |issue=22 |pages=12576–12578 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2133313100 |issn=0027-8424 |pmid=14557541|pmc=240659 |bibcode=2003PNAS..10012576Z |doi-access=free }}</ref> Slight changes to the spacing of the barbules result in different colors. Brown feathers are a mixture of red and blue: one color is created by the periodic structure and the other is created by a [[Fabry–Pérot interferometer|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blau |first1=Steven K. |title=Light as a Feather: Structural Elements Give Peacock Plumes Their Color |journal=Physics Today |date=January 2004 |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=18–20 |doi=10.1063/1.1650059 |bibcode=2004PhT....57a..18B |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Courtship ===
Most commonly, during a courtship display, the visiting peahen will stop directly in front of the peacock, thus providing her with 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 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adeline Loyau, Doris Gomez, Benoît Moureau, Marc Théry, Nathan S. Hart, Michel Saint Jalme, Andrew T.D. Bennett, Gabriele Sorci| title=Iridescent structurally based coloration of eyespots correlates with mating success in the peacock| journal=Behavioral Ecology| date=November 2007|volume=18| issue=6| pages=1123–1131| doi=10.1093/beheco/arm088| doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== 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]]:

{{blockquote|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. }}

==== Aposematism and natural selection ====
It has been suggested that a peacock's train, loud call, and fearless behavior have been formed by natural selection (with or without sexual selection too), and served as an [[aposematic]] display to intimidate predators and rivals.<ref name="jj2">{{Cite journal |last=Jordania |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Jordania |date=September 2021 |title=Can there be an Alternative Evolutionary Reason Behind the Peacock's Impressive Train? |url=https://www.academia.edu/54119122 |journal=Academia Letters |doi=10.20935/AL3534 |s2cid=244187388 |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326030154/https://www.academia.edu/54119122 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jordania |first=Joseph |year=2011 |chapter=Peacock's Tail: Tale of Beauty and Intimidation |title=[[Why do People Sing? Music in Human Evolution]] |location=Tbilisi, Georgia |publisher=Logos |pages=192–196 |isbn=978-9941-401-86-2 }}</ref> This hypothesis is designed to explain Takahashi's observations that in Japan, neither reproductive success nor physical condition correlate with the train's length, symmetry or number of eyespots.<ref name="takahashi"/>

==== Female choice ====
{{See also|Mate choice}}[[File:Peahen in front of displaying peacock.jpg|thumb|left|Peacock (seen from behind) displaying to attract peahen in foreground]]

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{{Example needed|date=May 2023}} in the peahen's eyes.<ref name="Age-advertisement and the evolution">{{cite journal |last1=Manning |first1=J. T. |date=September 1989 |title=Age-advertisement and the evolution of the peacock's train |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=379–384 |doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.1989.2050379.x |s2cid=86740688|doi-access=free }}</ref> These better genes directly benefit her offspring, as well as her fitness and reproductive success.

Runaway selection is another hypothesis. In runaway sexual selection, linked genes in males and females code for sexually dimorphic traits in males, and preference for those traits in females.<ref>Caldwell, Roy, and Jennifer Collins. "[http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIIE3aRunawayselec.shtml When Sexual Selection Runs Away] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129135558/http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIIE3aRunawayselec.shtml |date=29 November 2014 }}." Evolution 101: Runaway Selection. N.p., n.d. 24 November 2014.</ref> The close spatial association of [[alleles]]{{Which|date=May 2023}} for [[Locus (genetics)|loci]]{{Which|date=May 2023}} 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 non-mating context that becomes transferred to mating, such as Merle Jacobs' food-courtship<!-- Which is correct: Food courtship, food-courtship (hyphen), or food–courtship (en dash)? --> hypothesis, which suggests that peahens are attracted to peacocks for the resemblance of their eye spots to blue berries.<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Merle |title=A New Look at Darwinian Sexual Selection |url=http://naturalscience.com/ns/articles/01-11/ns_mej.html |access-date=22 May 2023 |website=NaturalSCIENCE |publisher=Heron Publishing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908162951/http://naturalscience.com/ns/articles/01-11/ns_mej.html |archive-date=8 September 2014 |ref=Jacobs}}</ref>

Multiple causalities for the evolution of female choice are also possible.

The peacock's train and iridescent plumage are perhaps the best-known examples of traits believed to have arisen through sexual selection, though with some controversy.<ref>[http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/male-peacocks-feathers-fail-to-impress-females-study_10031697.html Male Peacock's Feather Fails to Impress Females: Study] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027052428/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/male-peacocks-feathers-fail-to-impress-females-study_10031697.html |date=27 October 2014 }}. The Indian News. 27 March 2008.</ref> Male peafowl erect their trains to form a shimmering fan in their display for 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 [[eyespot (mimicry)|eyespot]]s 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:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Petrie |first1=Marion |last2=Halliday |first2=T. |last3=Sanders |first3=C. |year=1991 |title=Peahens prefer peacocks with elaborate trains |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=41 |pages=323–331 |doi=10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80484-1 |issue=2|s2cid=53201236 }}</ref> females lost interest in pruned males and retained interest in untrimmed ones. Males with fewer eyespots, thus having lower mating success, suffered from greater predation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Petrie |first=M. |year=1992 |title= Peacocks with low mating success are more likely to suffer predation |journal=Animal Behaviour |doi=10.1016/0003-3472(92)90072-H |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232545934 |volume=44 |pages=585–586|s2cid=53167596 }}</ref> She allowed 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 park and recaptured one year later. Those with heavily ornamented feathers were better able to avoid predators and survive in natural conditions.<ref name="Zuk">Zuk, Marlene. (2002). ''Sexual Selections: What we can and can't learn about sex from animals''. University of California Press; Berkeley, CA. {{ISBN|0520240758}}</ref> Thus, Petrie's work shows correlations between tail ornamentation, mating success, and increased survival ability in both the ornamented males and their offspring.

[[File:Peacock Flying.jpg|thumb|A peacock in flight: Zahavi argued that the long train would be a handicap.]]

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]]".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zahavi|first1=Amotz|title=Mate selection—A selection for a handicap|journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology|volume=53|issue=1|year=1975|pages=205–214|pmid=1195756|doi=10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3|bibcode=1975JThBi..53..205Z|url=http://ckwri.tamuk.edu/fileadmin/tpl/misc/Selection_for_a_handicap_Zahavi_1975.pdf|citeseerx=10.1.1.586.3819|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126204931/http://ckwri.tamuk.edu/fileadmin/tpl/misc/Selection_for_a_handicap_Zahavi_1975.pdf|archive-date=26 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since these trains are likely to be deleterious to an individual's survival (as their brilliance makes them more visible to [[predator]]s and their length hinders escape from danger), Zahavi argued that only the fittest males could survive the handicap of a large train. Thus, a brilliant train serves as an [[signalling theory|honest indicator]] for females that these highly ornamented males are good at surviving for other reasons, so are preferable mates.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Loyau |first1=Adeline |last2=Saint Jalme |first2=Michel |last3=Cagniant |first3=Cécile |last4=Sorci |first4=Gabriele |title=Multiple sexual advertisements honestly reflect health status in peacocks (''Pavo cristatus'') |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |date=October 2005 |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=552–557 |doi=10.1007/s00265-005-0958-y |s2cid=27621492 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="takahashi">{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Mariko |last2=Arita |first2=Hiroyuki |last3=Hiraiwa-Hasegawa |first3=Mariko |last4=Hasegawa |first4=Toshikazu |title=Peahens do not prefer peacocks with more elaborate trains |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=April 2008 |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=1209–1219 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.004 |s2cid=53196851 |url=http://id.nii.ac.jp/1013/00003652/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Loyau |first1=Adeline |last2=Petrie |first2=Marion |last3=Saint Jalme |first3=Michel |last4=Sorci |first4=Gabriele |title=Do peahens not prefer peacocks with more elaborate trains? |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=November 2008 |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=e5–e9 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.07.021 |s2cid=40638610 }}</ref> They concluded that female choice might indeed vary in different ecological conditions.

==== Plumage colours as attractants ====
[[File:Peacock Feather Close Up.JPG|thumb|upright|Eyespot on a peacock's train feather]]

A peacock's copulation success rate depends on the colours of his [[eyespot (mimicry)|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.<ref name=Dakin>{{cite journal |last1=Dakin |first1=Roslyn |last2=Montgomerie |first2=Robert |date=June 2013 |title=Eye for an eyespot: how iridescent plumage ocelli influence peacock mating success |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=1048–1057 |doi=10.1093/beheco/art045 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yorzinski |first1=Jessica L. |last2=Patricelli |first2=Gail L. |last3=Babcock |first3=Jason S. |last4=Pearson |first4=John M. |last5=Platt |first5=Michael L. |title=Through their eyes: selective attention in peahens during courtship |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |date=15 August 2013 |volume=216 |issue=16 |pages=3035–3046 |doi=10.1242/jeb.087338 |pmid=23885088 |pmc=4232502 |bibcode=2013JExpB.216.3035Y }}</ref>

==== Redundant signal hypothesis ====
Although an intricate display catches a peahen's attention, the redundant signal hypothesis also plays a crucial role in keeping this 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Loyau |first1=Adeline |last2=Jalme |first2=Michel Saint |last3=Sorci |first3=Gabriele |title=Intra- and Intersexual Selection for Multiple Traits in the Peacock (''Pavo cristatus'') |journal=Ethology |date=September 2005 |volume=111 |issue=9 |pages=810–820 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2005.01091.x |bibcode=2005Ethol.111..810L }}</ref>

== Behaviour ==
[[File:Peacock at cat rescue centre May 2017.jpg|thumb|left|Peacock sitting]]

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 [[Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamous]]. In common with other members of the [[Galliformes]], the males possess metatarsal spurs or "thorns" on their legs used during [[Intraspecific antagonism|intraspecific]] territorial fights with some other members of their kind.

{{Listen
 |filename     = Pavo+cristatus.wav
 |title        = ''Pavo cristatus'' vocalisation
}}

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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anoop |first1=K. R. |last2=Yorzinski |first2=Jessica L. |title=Peacock copulation calls attract distant females |journal=Behaviour |date=1 January 2013 |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=61–74 |doi=10.1163/1568539X-00003037 |s2cid=86482247 }}</ref>

== Diet ==
[[File:Peafowl at the Taipei Zoo.jpg|thumb|A green peafowl (''[[Pavo muticus]]'')]]

Peafowl are [[omnivore]]s and mostly eat plants, flower petals, seed heads, insects and other [[arthropod]]s, [[reptile]]s, and [[amphibian]]s. 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 [[arthropod]]s and small mammals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Peacock |url=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/peacock/ |website=National Geographic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302193601/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/peacock/ |archive-date=2 March 2010}}</ref> Indian peafowl also eat small snakes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnsingh |first1=A. J. T. |year=1976 |title=Peacocks and cobra |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=73 |issue=1 |page=214 }}</ref>

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-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.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is a Peacock's Diet? |url=http://animals.pawnation.com/peacocks-diet-10104.html |website=pawnation.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511085413/http://animals.pawnation.com/peacocks-diet-10104.html |archive-date=11 May 2014}}</ref>

== Cultural significance ==

=== Indian peafowl ===
[[File:Murugan by Raja Ravi Varma.jpg|thumb|The Hindu god [[Kartikeya]] with his wives on his peacock mount]]

The peafowl is native to [[India]]<ref name="q163">{{cite web | title=Indian Peafowl | website=San Francisco Zoo & Gardens | date=2021-10-16 | url=https://www.sfzoo.org/indian-peafowl/ | access-date=2024-09-20 | archive-date=20 September 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920135103/https://www.sfzoo.org/indian-peafowl/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> and significant in its culture.<ref name="s256">{{cite web | title=Why Are There So Many Peacocks in India's Arts, Culture, and Legends? | website=Fodors Travel Guide | date=2021-10-20 | url=https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/india/experiences/news/why-are-there-so-many-peacocks-in-indias-arts-culture-and-legends | access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref> In [[Hinduism]], the Indian peacock is the [[Vahana|mount]] of the [[List of war deities|god of war]], [[Kartikeya]], and the warrior goddess [[Kaumari]], and is also depicted around the goddess [[Santoshi]].<ref>Clothey, Fred W. Many Faces of Murakan: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God. Walter De Gruyter Inc., 1978. {{ISBN|978-9027976321}}.</ref> 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 [[Om]]kara when it spreads its magnificent plumes into a full-blown circular form.<ref name=Ayyar>{{cite web|last=Ayyar|first=SRS|title=Muruga – The Ever-Merciful Lord|url=http://murugan.org/ayyar_1.htm|work=Murugan Bhakti: The Skanda Kumāra site|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-date=9 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209025930/http://murugan.org/ayyar_1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[Hindu tantric literature|Tantric]] traditions of Hinduism the goddess [[Tvarita]] is depicted with peacock feathers.<ref>Slouber, Michael. 2017. [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Early_Tantric_Medicine/tGl4DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Tvarit%C4%81&pg=PA99&printsec=frontcover Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras]. Page 99. [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> A peacock feather also adorns the crest of the god [[Krishna]].<ref name="w643">{{cite web | title=Why does Lord Krishna wear a peacock feather on his head? | website=The Times of India | date=2024-03-01 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/soul-search/why-does-lord-krishna-wear-a-peacock-feather-on-his-head/photostory/108112604.cms?picid=108112627 | access-date=2024-09-20}}</ref>

[[Chandragupta Maurya]], the founder of the [[Mauryan Empire]], was born an orphan and raised by a family farming peacocks. According to the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] tradition{{Which|date=May 2023}}, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (''mora'' in [[Pali language|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".{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=14}} 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 [[Asiatic lion|lion]], as seen in the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]], as well in his [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts]]. The peacock continued to represent elegance and royalty in India during medieval times; for instance, the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal]] seat of power was called the [[Peacock Throne]].

The peacock is represented in both the [[Burmese zodiac#Weekdays|Burmese]] and [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] [[zodiacs]]. To the [[Sinhalese people]], the peacock is the third animal of the zodiac of [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BoJEAAAAcAAJ|title=The history and doctrine of Budhism, popularly illustrated|first=Edward|last=Upham|date=20 June 2018|publisher=Ackermann|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Peacocks (often a symbol of pride and vanity) were believed{{By whom|date=May 2023}} 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturalindia.net/national-symbols/national-bird.html|title=Indian Peacock: A Symbol of Grace, Joy, Beauty and Love|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226083809/http://www.culturalindia.net/national-symbols/national-bird.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Middle East ===
==== Yazidism ====
[[Tawûsî Melek]] ({{lit|Peacock Angel}})<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Sembolîzma teyran di Êzîdîtiyê de (1) |language=ku |url=http://www.bued.boun.edu.tr/turik.asp?id=47 |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224193133/http://www.bued.boun.edu.tr/turik.asp?id=47 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |author=Omarkhali, Khanna |title=The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition : From Oral to Written Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts |date=2017 |publisher=Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-10856-0 |oclc=1329211153}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Aysif |first=Rezan Shivan |url=http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?univerlag-isbn-978-3-86395-514-4 |title=The Role of Nature in Yezidism: Poetic Texts and Living Tradition |date=2021 |publisher=Göttingen University Press |isbn=978-3-86395-514-4 |location=Göttingen |doi=10.17875/gup2021-1855|s2cid=246596953 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2021 |title=مەھدى حەسەن:جەژنا سەر سالێ‌ دمیتۆلۆژیا ئێزدیان دا |url=https://www.lalishduhok.com/ckb/%da%af%db%86%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1/post/332436/,%20https://www.lalishduhok.com/ckb/گۆتار/post/332436/ |access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref> one of the central figures of the [[Yazidism|Yazidi religion]], is symbolized with a peacock.<ref name="Asatrian-Arakelova 2003">{{cite journal |author1-link=Garnik Asatrian |date=January 2003 |editor-last=Asatrian |editor-first=Garnik S. |title=Malak-Tāwūs: The Peacock Angel of the Yezidis |journal=[[Iran and the Caucasus]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] in collaboration with the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies ([[Yerevan]]) |volume=7 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–36 |doi=10.1163/157338403X00015 |issn=1609-8498 |eissn=1573-384X |jstor=4030968 |lccn=2001227055 |oclc=233145721 |author1-last=Asatrian |author1-first=Garnik S. |author2-last=Arakelova |author2-first=Victoria}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In Yazidi [[Creation myth|creation stories]], before the creation of this world, God created seven [[Yazidism#Holy figures|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 [[Angel]]s or heft sirr ("the Seven Mysteries").<ref name="Asatrian-Arakelova 2003" /><ref name="Allison 2017">{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Yazidis |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]] |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-254 |access-date=15 May 2021 |date=25 January 2017 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.254 |isbn=9780199340378 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311065225/https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-254 |archive-date=11 March 2019 |author-last=Allison |author-first=Christine |doi-access=free |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Asatrian-Arakelova 2014">{{cite book |author1-last=Asatrian |author1-first=Garnik S. |title=The Religion of the Peacock Angel: The Yezidis and Their Spirit World |author2-last=Arakelova |author2-first=Victoria |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-84465-761-2 |series=Gnostica |location=[[Abingdon, Oxfordshire]] |pages=1–28 |chapter=Part I: The One God - Malak-Tāwūs: The Leader of the Triad |doi=10.4324/9781315728896 |oclc=931029996 |author1-link=Garnik Asatrian |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1RsBAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Omarkhali, Khanna |title=The Yezidi religious textual tradition : from oral to written categories, transmission, scripturalisation and canonisation of the Yezidi oral religious texts |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-447-10856-0 |pages=26 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |oclc=1007841078}}</ref>

In Yazidism, the peacock is believed to represent the diversity of the world,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pirbari |first1=Dimitri |url=https://www.academia.edu/2464521 |title=Holy Lalish, 2008 (Ezidian temple Lalish in Iraqi Kurdistan). |last2=Grigoriev |first2=Stanislav |date=25 January 2013 |pages=183 |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=9 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109123141/https://www.academia.edu/2464521 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the colourfulness of the peacock's feathers is considered to represent of all the colours of nature. The feathers of the peacock also symbolize sun rays, from which come light, luminosity and brightness. The peacock opening the feathers of its tail in a circular shape symbolizes the sunrise.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Aysif |first=Rezan Shivan |url=https://www.univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-514-4 |title=The Role of Nature in Yezidism |date=2021 |isbn=978-3-86395-514-4 |pages=61–67, 207–208, 264–265 |doi=10.17875/gup2021-1855 |s2cid=246596953 |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529093320/https://univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-514-4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Consequently, due to its holiness, Yazidis are not allowed to hunt and eat the peacock, ill-treat it or 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.<ref name=":3" />

==== Mandaeism ====
In ''[[The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa]]'', the Mandaean [[uthra]] and emanation [[Yushamin]] is described as a peacock.<ref>{{cite book|last=Drower|first=Ethel S.|author-link=E. S. Drower|title=The Haran Gawaita and The Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa: The Mandaic text reproduced together with translation, notes and commentary |location=[[Vatican City]] |publisher=[[Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana]] |year=1953 |page=52}}</ref>

=== Ancient Greece ===
[[File:Peacock walking.jpg|thumb|A peacock walking freely around a zoo]]

Ancient Greeks believed that the flesh of peafowl did not decay after death,{{cn|date=October 2023}} 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 the Great|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aelian, De Natura Animalium, book 5, chapter 21|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.21|access-date=8 February 2023|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|archive-date=4 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604090056/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.21|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Claudius Aelianus]] writes that there were peacocks in India, larger than anywhere else.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aelian, De Natura Animalium, book 16, chapter 2|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:16.2|access-date=8 February 2023|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806082854/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0545.tlg001.perseus-grc1:16.2|url-status=live}}</ref>

One myth states that Hera's servant, the hundred-eyed [[Argus Panoptes]], was instructed to guard the woman-turned-cow, [[Io (mythology)|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.<ref>[[Ovid]] I, 625. The peacock is an Eastern bird, unknown to Greeks before the time of Alexander.</ref>

=== Christianity ===
The symbolism was adopted by early Christianity, thus many early Christian paintings and mosaics show the peacock.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Birds, symbolic |last1=Murray |first1=Peter |last2=Murray |first2=Linda |title=Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art |date=2004 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofchri0000murr/page/61 |chapter-url-access=registration |page=61 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-860966-3}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keating |first=Jessica |date=November 2021 |title=Hidden in plain sight: on copiousness in the Kunstkammer of Emperor Rudolf II |journal=Journal of the History of Collections |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=448 |doi=10.1093/jhc/fhab009}}</ref> the Church,<ref name=Mercatante >{{Cite book |last=Mercatante |first=Anthony S. |url=https://archive.org/details/factsonfileencyc00merc/page/518 |title=The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend |date=1988 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1049-8 |page=518}}</ref> or angelic wisdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathews |first=Thomas |date=2022 |editor-last=Alpi |editor-first=F. |editor2-last=Meyer |editor2-first=R. |editor3-last=Tinti |editor3-first=I. |editor4-last=Zakarian |editor4-first=D. |chapter=The iconography of the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel |title=Armenia Through the Lens of Time |publisher=Brill |page=28 |doi=10.1163/9789004527607_003 |isbn=978-90-04-52760-7}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Migotti>{{Cite journal |last=Migotti |first=Branka |date=1997 |title=An early Christian fresco from Štrbinci near Đakovo |journal=Hortus Artium Medievalium |volume=3 |pages=215–216 |doi=10.1484/J.HAM.2.305110|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/264547 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Patricia Cox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=519gDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |title=In the Eye of the Animal: Zoological Imagination in Ancient Christianity |date=2018 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-5035-0 |page=21}}</ref> Due to the adoption by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] of the ancient idea that the peacock's flesh did not decay, the bird was again associated with immortality.<ref name=Mercatante/><ref name=Migotti/> In Christian iconography, two peacocks are often depicted either side of the Tree of Life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/illustrateddicti0000hall_y4v3/page/38 |title=Hall's Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art |date=1994 |publisher=John Murray |isbn=0-7195-4954-X |page=38}}</ref>

The symbolic association of peacock feathers with the wings of angels led to the 
belief that the waving of such liturgical fans resulted in an automated emission of 
prayers. This affinity between peacocks' and angels' feathers was also expressed in 
other artistic media, including paintings of angels with peacock feather wings
<ref>Green, N. (2006). Ostrich Eggs and Peacock Feathers: Sacred Objects as Cultural Exchange between Christianity and Islam. Al-Masāq, 18(1), 27–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110500222328</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishfolksongs.com/en/golden-peacock |title=The Golden Peacock |publisher=Jewish Folk Songs |language=en |access-date=14 May 2017 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329051221/http://www.jewishfolksongs.com/en/golden-peacock |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Renaissance ===
The peacock motif was revived in the [[Renaissance]] iconography that unified Hera and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], and on which European painters focused.<ref>Seznec, Jean (1953) ''The Survival of the Pagan Gods: Mythological Tradition in Renaissance Humanism and Art''</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television |first=Les |last=Brown |publisher=Times Books |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-8129-0721-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesency00brow/page/328 328] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesency00brow/page/328 }}</ref> The current, six-feathered logo debuted on 12 May 1986.

Peacocks are a popular [[ornamental animal]] due to their beauty.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-06-27 |title=They might look pretty, but do peacocks make good pets? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-27/demand-for-pet-peacocks-keeps-breeders-busy/11213480 |access-date=2025-05-23 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Caucasian albanian stone azerbaijan mingechaur2.jpg|Stone from [[Mingachevir Church Complex]] (4th-7th century AD)
File:Kesi roundel with five-clawed dragon design.jpg|Roundel with dragon design. China, [[Qing-dynasty]], late 17th century. Peacock feather [[barbule]]s are used to highlight the dragon's scales.
File:Abramishvili1.JPG|''Peacock'' by [[Merab Abramishvili]] (1957–2006)
File:The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius - Carlo Crivelli - National Gallery.jpg|''Annunciation with St. Emidius'' (1486) by [[Carlo Crivelli]]. A peacock is sitting on the roof above the praying [[Virgin Mary]].
File:PeacockInTheWoods.jpg|Painting by [[Abbott Thayer]] and Richard Meryman for [[Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom|Thayer's 1909 book]], wrongly suggesting that the peacock's plumage was [[camouflage]]
File:Pavo Cristafus- Common Pea Fowl. 64.98.209.jpg|Common peafowl, by John Gould, {{Circa|1880}}. [[Brooklyn Museum]].
File:Bowl with Peacock Motif, ca. 1200–1230, 78.81.jpg|Syrian bowl with peacock motif, {{circa|1200}}. Brooklyn Museum.
File:Golingeswara temple complex Biccavole 02.jpg|Peacock sculpture at Golingeshwara temple complex in [[Biccavolu]], India
</gallery>

== Breeding and colour variations ==
{{More citations needed|section|find=spalding|date=May 2023}}
[[File:Paon blanc Madère 2008.jpg|thumb|A [[leucistic]] Indian peacock]]
[[File:Pauw, RP-P-2003-219.jpg|thumb|Japanese woodblock print of a white peacock, by [[Ohara Koson]] (小原 古邨), 1925–1936]]
Hybrids between Indian peafowl and Green peafowl are called ''Spaldings'', after the first person to successfully hybridise them, Keith Spalding.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} 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 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 colours purple, cameo, peach, and Sonja's Violeta. Additional colour and pattern variations are first approved by the United Peafowl Association to become officially recognised as a morph among breeders. Alternately-coloured peafowl are born differently coloured than wild-type peafowl, and though each colour is recognisable at hatch, their peachick plumage does not necessarily match their adult plumage.

Occasionally, peafowl appear with white plumage. Although [[albinism|albino]] peafowl do exist,{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} this is quite rare, and almost all white peafowl are not albinos; they have a genetic condition called [[leucism]], which causes pigment cells to fail to migrate from the neural crest during development. Leucistic peafowl can produce pigment but not deposit the pigment to their feathers, resulting in a blue-grey eye colour and the complete lack of colouration in their plumage. Pied peafowl are affected by partial leucism, where only some pigment cells fail to migrate, resulting in birds that have colour but also have patches absent of all colour; they, too, have blue-grey eyes. By contrast, true albino peafowl would have a complete lack of [[melanin]], resulting in irises that look red or pink. Leucistic peachicks are born yellow and become fully white as they mature.

[[File:Black-shouldered Indian Peafowl-Naturalis Biodiversity Center.jpg|thumb|right|Black-shouldered Indian peafowl ''Pavo cristatus'' from private collection of [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck]] (1778–1858), held at [[Naturalis Biodiversity Center]], Leiden, the Netherlands]]

The black-shouldered or [[Japanning|Japanned]] mutation was initially considered as a subspecies of the Indian peafowl (''P. c. nigripennis'') (or even a separate species (''P. nigripennis''))<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sclater PL|year= 1860|title=On the black-shouldered peafowl of Latham (''Pavo nigripennis'')|journal= [[Proc. Zool. Soc. London]]|pages=221–222|url=https://archive.org/stream/lietuvostsrmoksl60liet#page/221/mode/1up}}</ref> and was a topic of some interest during Darwin's time. Others had doubts about its taxonomic status, but the English naturalist and biologist [[Charles Darwin]] (1809–1882) presented firm evidence for it being a variety under domestication, which treatment is now well established and accepted. It being a colour variation rather than a wild species was important for Darwin to prove, as otherwise it could undermine his theory of slow modification by natural selection in the wild.<ref>van Grouw, H. & Dekkers, W. 2023. The taxonomic history of Black-shouldered Peafowl; with Darwin’s help downgraded from species to variation. ''Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club'', 143(1): 111–121. https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v143i1.2023.a7</ref> It is, however, only a case of genetic variation within the population. In this mutation, the adult male is melanistic with black wings.

== Gastronomy ==
[[File:Peacock served in full plumage (detail of BRUEGHEL Taste, Hearing and Touch).jpg|thumb|A peacock served in full plumage (detail of the ''Allegory of Taste, Hearing and Touch'' by [[Jan Brueghel the Elder]], 1618)]]

In ancient Rome, peafowl were served as a delicacy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gillis|first=Francesca|date=4 May 2020|title=Ancient Foodies: Modern Misconceptions, Alternative Uses, and Recipes for Food in Ancient Rome|url=https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/classics_honors/26|journal=Classics Honors Projects|access-date=27 July 2021|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727191035/https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/classics_honors/26/|url-status=live}}</ref> The dish was introduced there in approximately 35 B.C. The poet [[Horace]] ridiculed the eating of peafowl, saying they tasted like chicken. Peafowl eggs were also valued. [[Petronius|Gaius Petronius]] in his [[Satyricon]] also mocked the ostentation and snobbery of eating peafowl and their eggs.

During the [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] period, various types of fowl were consumed as food, with the poorer populations (such as [[Serfdom|serfs]]) consuming more common [[bird]]s, such as [[chicken]]. However, the more wealthy [[gentry]] were privileged to eat less usual foods, such as swan, and even peafowl were consumed. On a king's table, a peacock would be for [[conspicuous consumption|ostentatious display]] as much as for [[Cuisine|culinary]] consumption.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medieval-recipes.com/medievalrecipes/fowlrecipes.htm |title=Fowl Recipes |publisher=Medieval-Recipes.com |year=2010 |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-date=13 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213082159/http://www.medieval-recipes.com/medievalrecipes/fowlrecipes.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

From the 1864 ''[[The English and Australian Cookery Book]]'', regarding occasions and preparation of the bird:

<blockquote>Instead of plucking this bird, take off the skin with the greatest care, so that the feathers do not get detached or broken. Stuff it with what you like, as truffles, mushrooms, livers of fowls, bacon, salt, spice, thyme, crumbs of bread, and a bay-leaf. Wrap the claws and head in several folds of cloth, and envelope the body in buttered paper. The head and claws, which project at the two ends, must be basted with water during the cooking, to preserve them, and especially the tuft. Before taking it off the spit, brown the bird by removing the paper. Garnish with lemon and flowers. If to come on the table cold, place the bird in a wooden trencher, in the middle of which is fixed a wooden skewer, which should penetrate the body of the bird, to keep it upright. Arrange the claws and feathers in a natural manner, and the tail like a fan, supported with wire. No ordinary cook can place a peacock on the table properly. This ceremony was reserved, in the times of chivalry, for the lady most distinguished for her beauty. She carried it, amidst inspiring music, and placed it, at the commencement of the banquet, before the master of the house. At a nuptial feast, the peacock was served by the maid of honour, and placed before the bride for her to consume.<ref>{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=Edward |title=The English and Australian Cookery Book |url=https://archive.org/details/b21505524 |date=1864}}</ref></blockquote>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |author=R. K. Mookerji |author-link=Radha Kumud Mukherjee |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA14 |year=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0405-0 }}


{{Phasianidae}}
{{Birds in culture}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q201251|from2=Q3917160|from3=Q10730907|from4=Q61865|from5=Q254636|from6=Q338996}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peafowl}}
[[Category:Peafowl| ]]
[[Category:Birds of Asia]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Paraphyletic groups]]