Green Peafowl
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| Green Peafowl Conservation status: Vulnerable | ||||||||||||||
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| Pavo muticus Linnaeus, 1766 |
The Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus, is a species of bird in the peafowl genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is a resident breeder in north east India and Myanmar east to Java.
It is a forest bird which nests on the ground laying 4-8 eggs. It eats mainly seeds, but also some insects and fruit.
The male has a beautiful iridescent green colour. His tail feathers have a series of eyes that are best seen when fanned. There is a tufted crest, different in shape to the fanned crest of the Indian Peafowl. The female plumage is mainly dull grey-green. She lacks the long tail of the male. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen.
Peafowl are most notable for the male's extravagant tail, a result of sexual selection, which it displays as part of courtship. The peacock's rituals include the display of its startling plumage and a loud call. This species will hybridise with the closely related Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus.
The IUCN lists the Green Peafowl as vulnerable to extinction due to hunting and a reduction in extent and quality of habitat.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6