Indian Peafowl

Indian peafowl is one of three species other than Congo and Green peafowls.. They are local to India and Sri Lanka. They are often called as blue peafowl. In 1963, they were announced as the National Bird of India. This peafowl has been introduced to some other countries as well such as South Africa, Colombia, Costa, Portugal, Italy, Argentina, and Mexico. Apart from these countries, Indian peafowl are also found in the UK and the U.S. All over the world, most people love to keep them as pets due to their astonishing looks.

They are very elegant and charming birds, you can find them in ground and forest areas. These blue peafowls also live in such areas where water is available. These majestic birds live in the shape of small groups. They scream very loudly, especially in rainy weather. You could also hear their loud vocal “may-yow” in the evening. You surely have seen different types of the largest birds such as ostrich and emperor penguins can’t fly but, the Indian peafowl are known as one of the largest birds that can fly.

Following is an overview about this colorful bird:

As the name shows, they belong to India. Big number of their population is located in deserts of Rajasthan. But it doesn’t mean that they cannot be seen in any other area. they are also available in Sri Lanka and some parts of Myanmar and Pakistan.

We don’t have the exact figures of their population but according to some sources and IUCN red list, the population of Indian peafowl is approximately more than 1 lakh all over the world. In Taiwan and Japan introduced breeding pairs, the estimated population of Indian peafowl is around 5 to 10 thousand.

The population of blue peafowl birds is broadly spread in many parts of South Asia. As we already mentioned, the Indian peafowl is the national bird of India so that’s why the species of Indian peafowl have been protected well by Indian law.

Price of an Indian/blue peafowl highly depends on its appearance, colors and genetics. The young bird is expensive than the older bird or chick. You can find a chick in $50 to 80$ but a young Bird will cost you in $100 to $300. You can get some discount if you are going to buy more than one bird. So try to buy a pair instead of getting only one bird.

Over 5 thousand years ago, Indian peafowl birds originated in India. These birds are known as the national birds of India. During the 4th century, when Alexander conquered India, at that time, Indian peafowl was first presented to Europe. From that point onward, this astonishing bird was exported to different regions on the earth including America. Nowadays, you can see these Indian peafowl birds in so many parts of the world such as Africa, Australia, and North America etc.

The blue peafowl birds have had a huge impact on Indian culture for so many years. These astonishing birds are also considered a sign of beauty in Indian art. India has also made some strict rules and laws to protect the species of these elegant blue peafowls. Not only Indians but people from so many countries want to keep Indian peafowl birds as pets.

Male peafowl birds are known as peacocks while female peafowl are peahens. We can call them peafowl if we combine them. The breeding season of Indian peafowl starts from April to May in southern India and northern India, it starts in June. In Sri Lanka, their breeding starts from January to March. In the breeding season, both peafowl produce loud calls. Both male and female blue peafowls appear to be unique in size, shape and colors. They become sexually mature at the age of 2 to 3 years. Both male and female peafowl have long legs which are grayish and brown.

Indian male peafowl can also be known as Indian peacocks. As we know the other name of Indian peacock is blue peacock. This is because the color of their body and head is blue. Indian peacocks have a long tail and the color of their long tail is both blue and green. People often get attracted to their amazing tail because it is the most elegant part of the Indian peacock body. These male birds have fan-shaped crests and the head of an Indian peacock is short and curled. Their upper neck and bosom are in purple shade with blue-green color.

Indian female peafowl birds are also called Indian peahens. They are different from Indian peacocks in many aspects. Indian peahens are a little smaller than compared to Indian peacocks. They have crests in chestnut-brown color. These female birds have lower necks in greenish color and their plumage is duller brown. They have brown bodies and tails while their head color is blue like male Indian peafowl. The breast color of the peahen is brown and green.

Measurements	Male	Female
Height	40-46 Inches (101-116 cm)	36-38 Inches (91.50-96.50 cm)
Length	60-88 Inches (152-223 cm)	35-40 Inches (89-101 cm)
Weight	8.81-13.22 lbs. (4-6 kg)	5.95-8.81 lbs. (2.70-4 kg)

They are omnivores, their diet consists of insects, fruits, seeds, snakes, lizards etc. If you have a blue peafowl, you could feed them with crop food including bananas, tomatoes, chili, and other types of crops. You often see them, they eat insects a lot and due to this research shows that the dieting habits of Indian peafowl have reduced the population of lizards, snakes, and grasshoppers.

As we know, They love to eat snakes but make sure to let them eat only small snakes and keep them away from big snakes because they might attack your peafowl. Apart from that, because they are omnivores, they eat both vegetables and meats and their other diet includes fruits, small mammals, berries, etc.

Most families in different parts of South Asia keep them as pets. It doesn’t matter how many pets a family has, but due to their majestic looks and colorful body, everyone wants to keep at least 1 Indian peafowl in their home. These birds can be very good pets for families, they will surely add more charms to your home.

Make sure to keep them in your home garden, they are not meant to live indoors. They might damage your home furniture, glass, and mirrors. Remember to keep them far away from your vehicle since they would scratch your vehicle.

Before owning a blue peafowl, you have to educate yourself about how to prevent the Indian peafowl from damaging your home’s important stuff, and at the same time, you have to learn about how to treat them wisely. You can’t be cruel or harsh with Indian peafowl otherwise they might be out of your control.

If you have an Indian peafowl bird, you have to be conscious about their care and grooming so that they can live more than 40 years. Make sure to keep them in a good and safe environment. You should give them a spacious room where they can move freely without any hesitation.

Healthy food is very essential for the growth of Indian peafowl. Feed them twice a day with good food. As they are omnivores, you give them both meat and vegetable foods. Their diet should include fruits, grains, seeds, and protein food such as bugs and some small reptiles. Along with all this food, they need more water as compared to other birds. It is essential to give them clean water constantly to keep them hydrated.

Indian peafowl should be checked every day to detect any kind of injury or disease. Their vaccination is also essential to prevent them from death-threatening diseases. Don’t forget to take your Indian peafowl to a veterinarian after every 3 to 4 weeks.

To maintain their majestic looks, daily grooming of Indian peafowl is needed. Give them proper grooming to maintain their overall body. Due to their charming personality, they should be clean all the time, and it’s your responsibility to take good care of them. Be sure to use dusting powder to save them from lice.

Indian peafowl birds have very sharp nails, so they may hurt themselves or other pets with their nails. If you have a car, these birds might scratch your car too. The growth of their nails is fast. That’s why it’s important to trim their nails after every 2 to 3 days. Make sure to trim their nails to normal, they would feel pain if you cut them very short.

They love to enjoy the water that’s why most of the independent Indian peafowl birds live where water is near to them. Bathing every 2 to 3 weeks is essential for them to keep them clean. You have to bring shampoo and conditioner to keep their colorful body neat and clean. Before giving them a bath check the temperature of the water, it should not be too cold or too hot. Make sure the water temperature is normal.

These birds have very sensitive skin, during the molting season they get irritated from their sensitive skin. When their skin gets too dry, they feel irritation. You have to be conscious about their skincare routine, especially in the molting season, you should give them coconut oil or any other natural moisturizer to prevent their skin from irritation.

The lifespan of Indian peafowl birds highly depends on where they live. These birds can live as a pet with family and could also live independently in the forest. They might live more if they live as a pet because they would get complete care and grooming. Here we have discussed the average lifespan of Indian peafowl in both wildlife and captivity.

Gender	Lifespan in Wildlife	Lifespan in Captivity
Peacock	15 to 25 years	40 to 50 years
Peahen	15 to 20 years	25 to 30 years

As we have mentioned, the average lifespan of an Indian peafowl birds is around 15 to 25 years for both peacocks and peahens. With their large size, big claws, and sharp beaks, they can defend themselves against small wild animals but still, they are not powerful against most wild animals such as leopards, tigers, and wolves.

Indian peafowl birds can live up to 20 to 30 years in captivity. If they get good care and good healthy food every day, they might live for 40 to 45 years. In captivity, these birds are safe from different kinds of wild animals so that’s why their lifespan is higher in captivity than in wildlife.

Indian peafowl birds have very loud vocal sounds. Most of the time their noisy sound is like a cat’s “meow”. Their loud screaming is “may-yow” and they release their sound usually in the evening time and also in the rainy season. Indian peafowl birds can make different types of sound according to the situation

Indian peafowl birds can also make some alarm calls when they see any wild animal who might hurt them such as tigers, dogs, and other kinds of wild animals. When India peacocks birds get a chance to mate with a peahen they produce sounds like “hoot call”. Apart from that, they tend to release some more voices according to the scenario.

You can watch and listen their voices in the following video:

After reading this article, we came to know that Indian peafowls are one of the most beautiful bird in the world. They can be kept as pet, in fact, many people in South Asia keep them as pet. They increase the beauty of your home or farm house. As we know they are big birds, it means they need big space.

We are now well aware of their life in captivity and in the wild as well. Their caring tips are also discussed to ensure their healthy life. We hope now you can keep a peafowl pet easily.