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More About Peacocks ...
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The peafowl are the three species of bird in the genera Pavo and Afropavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are most notable for the male's extravagant tail, a result of sexual selection, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen.
The male (peacock) has beautiful iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage. His tail feathers have a series of eyes that are best seen when the tail is fanned. Both species have a head crest.
The female (peahen) has a mixture of dull green, brown and grey in her plumage. She lacks the long tail of the male, but has a crest.
Many of the brilliant colors of the peacock plumage are due to an optical interference phenomenon (Bragg reflection) based on (nearly) periodic nanostructures found in the barbules (fiber-like components) of the feathers.
Different colors correspond to different length scales of the periodic structures. For brown feathers, a mixture of red and blue is required?one color is created by the periodic structure, while the other is a created by a Fabry-Perot interference peak from reflections off the outermost and innermost boundaries of the periodic structure.
Such interference-based structural color is especially important in producing the peacock's iridescent hues (which shimmer and change with viewing angle), since interference effects depend upon the angle of light, unlike chemical pigments.
In captivity, the peafowl has produced many plumage color variations. Those are mutations that have been secured by selective breeding. They included: white bodied, barred winged, white eyed, pied, cameo, charcoal, bronze, opal, peach, midnight, purple, and any combination of these variations
The Indian Peafowl is native to India and Sri Lanka. The Green Peafowl breeds from Myanmar east to Java. The IUCN lists the Green Peafowl as vulnerable to extinction due to hunting and a reduction in extent and quality of habitat. The two Pavo species will hybridize.
The peafowl are forest birds which nest on the ground. They eat mainly seeds, but also some insects and fruit. The Pavo peafowl are terrestrial feeders, but roost in trees. They are reluctant fliers other than to access their roosts
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Peacocks
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VIDEO CLIPS
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Green peafowl
0.520MB RM View Movie
Yunnan Animal Museum
Green peafowl
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Peacock
0.000MB MOV View Movie
PBS
Why does the peacock have such a beautiful tail? Interesting Narrative
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Black-shouldered Peacock
0.530MB MOV View Movie
Feathersite.com
Peacock courting
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White Peacock
0.890MB MOV View Movie
Feathersite.com
Peacock Running
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Indian Peafowl
WMV View Movie
Internet Bird Collection
A male walking. Kanha Nationa Park (Madhya Pradesh), India (Monotypic species).
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Indian Peafowl
WMV View Movie
Internet Bird Collection
A male showing courtship display. Kanha Nationa Park (Madhya Pradesh), India (Monotypic species).
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Peacock
1.580MB MOV View Movie
DVArchive
Peacock giving huge display of feathers, pride, mating behavior
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Peacock
2.560MB MOV View Movie
DVArchive
Peacock giving huge display of feathers, pride, mating behavior
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Peacock
View Movie
National Geographic
Indian Peacock
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Peacock
View Movie
WorldClips Stock Footage
Peacock
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