See Also: Peacock(medicine)
peacock(dictionary)
peacock(encyclopedia)
peacock(dictionary)
Peacock Arrows - Archery(gambling)
Peacock, Thomas Love(encyclopedia)
Peacock, Thomas Love(dictionary)

peacock (sh)




Any of three species (family Phasianidae) of resplendent birds of open lowland forests.

Blue, or Indian (Pavo cristatus), and green, or Javanese (P. muticus), peacock males are 35-50 in. (90-130 cm) long and have a 60-in. (150-cm) train of metallic green tail feathers tipped with an iridescent eyespot ringed with blue and bronze. The train is erected, fanned out, and vibrated during courtship. Females (peahens) are duller and have no train. The male forms a harem of two to five hens, which lay their eggs in a depression in the ground. The blue and green male Congo peacock (Afropavo congensis) has a short rounded tail; the reddish and brown hen has a topknot.