Who hasn't heard or seen this amazing bird with a gorgeous tail? To date, you will not find a zoo that does not contain these birds. But where do peacocks live in nature? What conditions do they require and what do they feed on?
Habitat
Peacock belongs to the family of pheasants and belongs to the order of galliformes. Therefore, it is also called the big chicken. And yet, where do peacocks live? It is known that the main habitat of peacocks is India and Sri Lanka. It was here that the common peacock or, as it is also called, the Indian peacock, was first discovered. This species is the most common today - it can be observed in almost all zoos in the world.
Another species of peacock lives on the island of Java, the Malay Peninsula and Indochina. This species is called gigantic or Javanese. It is much larger than usual and has a brighter color. It must be said that there are about 50 species of peacocks. All of them are different in size, but the males have a magnificent tail, which refers them to this species.
Distribution history
For the first time this amazing birdsaw the Dutch, who reached the islands in the Pacific Ocean. They, having arrived back, told an amazing story about a bird of paradise with a magnificent tail. Naturally, these stories raised a lot of questions. Where do peacocks live? In which country can they be seen? Following the discoverers of India, traders followed, who brought unusual birds. Interestingly, the first mention of these creatures is found in ancient scrolls, including the Bible.
These birds adorned the magnificent palaces of the powerful rulers of Ancient Egypt, Rome and India, and were also the pride of the richest and wisest king in the history of mankind - Solomon. Peacocks came to Europe during the time of Alexander the Great, famous for his aggressive campaigns in the countries where peacocks live.
Building features
Peacocks are very large birds: their size together with the tail is up to 2.5 meters. Although it must be clarified that the bird's body does not exceed one meter, and the tail is only 40-50 centimeters long. But the magnificent feathers located above the tail make up the main length of the bird because they reach a size of 160 centimeters.
In the Indian peacock, the main color of the plumage of the head, neck and chest is bright blue. The back of the bird is a beautiful green with color overflows, and the bottom is black. This coloring is especially important for attracting females, because the voice of a peacock is terrible, like that of a crow. But the magnificent tail feathers look chic - long, bright, decorated with an ornament that looks like many eyes. Interesting,that they serve not only to attract females, but also to protect against predators, and modern science knows that this is one of the ways of communication.
Food
Brought to Europe, at first they were simply kept in cages, but with the development of zoos, other questions arose. How to tell people about what kind of bird it is - a peacock? Where does he live? What does it eat? The answer required learning more about their natural habitat. It is interesting that, having arrived in India, peacocks were found at an altitude of up to 2000 meters above sea level. Their favorite places were thickets of bushes located near villages and cultivated fields. This spoke of the way they ate: they feasted on cereals in the nearby fields.
They also ate the berry bushes growing nearby. The bird does not disdain to eat small rodents, as well as small snakes. The only condition for peacocks to live nearby is the presence of a reservoir nearby and separate tall trees. India is replete with such places and this is the best place for birds. In addition, Indians believe in the sanctity of this bird and allow it to eat from their fields. Interestingly, where the peacock bird lives, there are fewer snakes, and in this way it benefits the people living in the neighborhood.
Reproduction
In the case of reproduction of their own kind, peacocks are like chickens - there are up to 5 females per male. The breeding season for these birds coincides with the beginning of the rainy season. Therefore, in areas where peacocks live, people consider them to be harbingers of rain. During the periodbreeding, the male spreads his colorful tail, gives it forward and begins the mating dance. Thus, he attracts the attention of the female, and it is up to her to choose a partner - whose dance will impress the most, so she will.
The female does not build nests, but lays eggs directly on the ground. There are usually up to 10 eggs in the hole. It must be said that the pava is a very selfless mother, she will protect her offspring to death. Unlike females, males flee at the sight of danger, warning their brothers with a loud cry. Chicks are born gray and up to 1.5 years old, males practically do not differ from females. Peacocks reach maturity at the age of 4 years, at the same time the males have their magnificent plumage.
It must be said that for a long time peacocks were bred not only for beauty, but also for food. The meat of this bird on the table was considered the height of we alth and was served only on special occasions.
