The wild birds aren't the only ones looking for a mate. Our peacocks are also strutting their stuff, trying to catch the lady peahens attention.
Proud as a Peacock
What a lot of people don't realize is that this pretty boy doesn't just show off his plumage. Nope, he also shakes and rattles his feathers, so they sound a lot like maracas.
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The junior peacock also tries to strut around and impress the ladies, but I'm afraid he just hasn't got enough plumage yet to really "wow" them.
"Darn! I guess size DOES matter."
He's only a couple of years old, so his feathers don't match the old dudes. I'd guess his feathers are only about half as long as the older peacocks.
He's a cheeky little devil for all that, but the girls still aren't paying much attention to him.
That's all right. His time will come!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a friend that has 15 pairs! Can you imagine the noise??
They came with the ranch when she bought it 10 years ago. Thankfully, the surrounding predators keep the numbers pretty much at 30. Babies rarely survive the spring. They’re basically feral, so she can’t catch them/sell them.
We go over an collect tail feathers when all the breeding is over with. I never knew the cocks dropped those beautiful feathers once the hens start sitting eggs, until I met my friend.
Wow, 15 pairs of peacocks! Yeah, I can imagine the noise all right. I fear our neighbors would have fits if we had that many. They can really make a LOUD screeching sound.
Yes, every year the peacocks drop those beautiful tail feathers. And for the first 5 years or so, the feathers are longer every year. That’s why there’s such a difference between our young dude and the older peacock.
The peacocks are gorgeous! Being a city kid, I only saw them at the Bronx Zoo, and they wouldn’t spread their tails… maybe the crowds frightened them too much.
One of the greatest 20th century American authors, Flannery O’Connor, kept peafowl on her farm in Georgia, and wrote some very detailed descriptions of their behavior, including the male spreading his fan and how the human witnesses reacted to it— with astonishment. Unfortunately, the articles are not available online, and the book they appeared in is out of print.
They are rather shy about fanning their feathers sometimes. Usually they don’t pay any attention to me since I’m around all the time, but if I get inside the cage and too close he’ll drop the feathers.
Maybe someday I’ll find an out-of-print book from Flannery O’Conner about her farm and the peacocks. That’d be interesting to read!