#greenpeafowl

The Enchanting Beauty of Green Peafowl.

This article covers the basic information required for keeping Green peafowl, from diet to temperament. It was written for inclusion on the superb Allandoo Phesantry website, you can visit them here. 

In the wild Green Peafowl live in varied habitats across South Asia however their range is fragmented and they are now assessed as endangered.

In captivity green peafowl require large aviaries, and spacious indoor accommodation for the worst of the winter weather. I provide my peafowl with a small heater during low winter temperatures. My birds are fed a diet based on wheat, pheasant pellets and greens. Fruit (banana, grapes etc.) is given as a regular treat.

Planting in the aviary is difficult to establish as anything edible is quickly stripped. The birds tend to squash small to medium sized plants and trees by jumping onto them. Green peafowl spend a considerable amount of time perching. Adequate perches/platforms should be provided in both indoor and outdoor enclosures.  

Peacocks can be extremely aggressive towards other males and they should be kept separated. Adjacent aviaries should be screened from each other up to a height of approx. 1m to prevent fighting and pacing. 

Although well adjusted aviary birds are calm, even the most settled green peafowl remain easily spooked and capable of panic in the face of even minor unfamiliar situations. This flighty tendency combined with a wandering nature means that green peafowl must remain within the aviary and should never be considered for free ranging.

This species has less strident calls than Indian peafowl however both sexes are capable of moderately loud vocalisations during the breeding season. Outside the breeding season they remain quiet unless alarmed.

Green peafowl and Indian Peafowl are both closely related. When purposely bred together the resulting fertile hybrids are often called Spauldings (especially in America where the practice is common). 

This Article takes a look at the negative effects and provides techniques to help spot and avoid hybrid peafowl.... 

Why are hybrid peafowl damaging? 

Indian peafowl are quite common across their range, however Green peafowl are now endangered. Their population is thought to have declined 50% over three generations and the trend seems set to continue. 

Conservation and reintroduction work requires individuals that are pure bred as they would be found in the wild. Hybrids are primarily damaging because they are fertile and in some cases difficult to identify, allowing alien genes to spread through captive and wild populations.

How can you identify a hybrid? 

Hybrid birds mix characteristics found in Indian and Green peafowl. The amount of mixing, and how identifiable it is depends upon how often the other species is represented in the birds lineage, and is random to an extent.  The most difficult birds to identify are those where the hybridisation is distant and the traits needed to identify it visually are slight or lost altogether. Where hybridisation is more recent birds can be relatively easily identified. 

In captivity hybrids need to have been part of a fairly intense breeding program to produce a bird that is visually indistinguishable from its pure bred counterpart. There are characteristic pointers to identifying a hybrid. 

Crest shape (1)

Hybrids often present a distinct mix of the tight bunched crest of the Green peafowl and the wide fan of the Indian peafowl, In first generation hybrids this trait tends towards the Indian parent.

Yellow face (2)

Hybrid peafowl often retain at least some yellow colouring on the face.

Plumage (3)

Plumage in adult females tends towards resembling a first year juvenile male Indian peacock. The bird in the illustration exhibits several plumage features not found in wild birds:

Large amounts of iridescent feathers on the neck (3a), dark patterning on breast (3b), increased patterning on back (3c) and small amounts of iridescence in the tail (3d).

Similarly the adult blackshoulder mutation hen in the image at the top of this article is strikingly similar to a juvenile male.  

Carriage (4)

Hybrids tend to retain the longer legs and a more upright carriage of Green peafowl. 

Behaviour 

Hybrids can behave more like Green peafowl in temperament and wander more widely.

Growth Rate

Hybrids display a noticeably faster growth rate compared to pure bred Indian peafowl. 

There are three species of peafowl living today. Both Green and Indian peafowl have elaborate plumage and are closely related. In the wild they inhabit South Asia. Congo peafowl are distantly related to the asian peafowl and the only true pheasant in africa.

Indian Peafowl 

The most familiar type of peafowl is the Indian or India Blue. Distributed throughout the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka. Males have blue necks with barring on the wing and a long green ‘tail’ covered in ocelli (eye spots). Females are brown with light patterning across the feathers and a green upper neck.

Green Peafowl

Green peafowl are less commonly kept in captivity than Indian peafowl. In the wild they have a fragmented range across Southeast Asia where they are now Endangered. Male green peafowl have green necks, blue wings and a long train that is darker and more golden than in Indian peafowl.  Female green peafowl resemble the male however they are slightly less vivid and lack the long train feathers. Both sexes have a straight crest and yellow face patch.

Congo Peafowl

When green peafowl are less than three years old it can be difficult to tell if the birds are male or female without a good comparison or invasive examination. This article visually illustrates the difference between the sexes at all stages of life..