Peacock facts: this should really be pea"fowl" facts... | Animal Fact Files

today on animal fact files we're talking about peacocks peacock is a bit of a misnomer but because that's how most people recognize them we're going to stick with it but if you want to get technical the term peacock is specifically in reference to males while females are called P hens and babies are called P chicks as a whole they are P fowl and there are three different species the most common and probably the most familiar is the blue peacock the other two species are the green peacock and the Congo peacock the blue peacock is native to India and Sri Lanka but they have basically been domesticated and lived throughout the world as pets the green peacock ranges in Southeast Asia from Burma to Indonesia they're more affected by changes in temperature and thus aren't as Hardy as blue peacocks they're also considered to be more aggressive than blue peacocks so they haven't taken off as pets the way blue peacocks have this is probably for the best though because green peacocks are endangered due to population declines from habitat loss and over hunting the third and final peacock species was discovered less than a century ago and lives in Africa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo they're also listed as vulnerable in the wild and are probably the least well-known of the peacock species in general peacocks spend their days in open forests foraging on the ground for food and water and spend their nights roosting in trees size-wise blue and green peacocks are the largest with males averaging 80 inches in length including they're trained and females averaging 40 inches congo peacocks average about 65 inches between both the males and the females probably the most identifying feature of a peacock are their feathers male green and blue peacocks come in the color of their namesake and have long trains with us-ally or eyespots these trains can be more than 50% of their body length and the male's use these feathers for mating and intimidation displays some people mistakenly call these the tail feathers but the train actually covers the tail feathers of male peacocks Congo peacocks also put on fan displays but their train plumage is nowhere near as long as their Asian counterparts bloopy hens are rather drab in color sticking to Gray's and tan with limited colorful plumage but green pea hens are just as vibrant as the males Congo P hens are usually green along their back with their chest feathers appearing more brown or gray only male peacocks have long trains for display and after a breeding season males will molt their long trains and have to regrow them there are also white peacocks this coloration is relatively rare and is not a form of albinism it's possible for peacocks to be partially white and partially colored as well while they might look regal most people consider them rather loud and noisy blue peacocks sound something like this and Congo peacocks sound like this I kind of like the way they sound what do you think noisy or not blue peacocks are the national bird of India so they must be doing something right peacocks are typically ready to mate by three years of age though it should be noted that Congo peacocks have not been thoroughly studied in the wild because of their isolated location and generally shy nature so new information may show inaccuracies here a peahen will lay roughly between two to eight eggs and a nest she constructs on the ground and incubates her clutch for just under a month the pea chicks are able to fly in just a few weeks of hatching but they'll stick with their parents for as long as until the next breeding season before flying solo in the wild peacocks can live to be 20 or older though they don't usually live as long in captivity it's thought this is the case because captive peacocks don't have to work as hard finding food and this may contribute to them developing chronic diseases that present with overeating and lack of exercise such as gout speaking of diets peacocks eat bamboo shoots flower petals grasses insects reptiles amphibians and worms in the wild they're hunted by Tigers jackals and other large predators like Chester peacocks holds significance throughout many cultures be it for the uses of their feathers and ailing victims of cobra bites or even just their aesthetic value in fashion and design they're some of the most well known birds in the animal kingdom for more facts on peacocks or pfl check out the links in the description let us know what you think of these majestic birds in the comments please give a thumbs up if you enjoyed this episode and we'll you next time on animal fact files

Channel: Animal Fact Files

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Rating: 4.7492876 out of 5

Keywords: animal kingdom, educational, educational videos, learning about animals, facts about, facts about animals, animal, fact, learning, peacock, facts about peacock, peacock facts, peacock information, peafowl facts, facts about peafowl, peafowl information, Pavo cristatus, Pavo muticus, Afropavo congensis, facts about birds, bird facts, bird information, endangered animals, peacock bird, peafowl bird, peacock animal fact files, peacock education

Id: EkJvstgd7oc

Length: 4min 28sec (268 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 15 2018