Wild
peacocks are found in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. It
is possible to find peacocks living wild in other parts
of the world also, but they have been put there by people
at some time.
Only
male peacocks have the beautiful spray of feathers. The
females (called peahens) don't have these beautiful feathers.
By displaying their beautiful tails,
males usually manage to attract 2-5 females, with whom they
mate. They also vibrate their tails as they dance around
for the females.
The
eye markings on the tail are much admired by females - the
more "eyes" a male has, the more mates he will
attract.
Females
choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality
of the male's outrageous feather trains.
Some
males may gather harems of several females, each of which
will lay three to five eggs which
they sit on for 28 days. Baby peachicks can run around and
eat almost as soon as they hatch and can fly at just a week
old.
Peacocks
are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures.
Peafowl
such as the blue peacock have been admired by humans and
kept as pets for thousands of years.
Peacocks
have been kept as tame birds for over 3000 years, however
they can be testy and do not mix well with other domestic
birds.
Peacocks
are mentioned in ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian history.