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Peacock

Pavo | Afropavo

Peafowl is the common name for three species of large birds in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) in the genera Pavo and Afropavo: the male is a peacock and the female is a peahen; both are peafowl. The three living species are the Indian or blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus), native to India and Sri Lanka; the green peafowl (Pavo muticus), found from Myanmar to Java; and the Congo peafowl (Afropavo congensis), which inhabits the forested interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the blue and green peafowl, the male is famous for its long, iridescent train, formed mainly from elongated upper tail coverts, not the tail itself, with eye‑spotted feathers that are raised and vibrated in courtship displays.

Peafowl is the common name for three species of large birds in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) in the genera Pavo and Afropavo: the male is a peacock and the female is a peahen; both are peafowl. The three living species are the Indian or blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus), native to India and Sri Lanka; the green peafowl (Pavo muticus), found from Myanmar to Java; and the Congo peafowl (Afropavo congensis), which inhabits the forested interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the blue and green peafowl, the male is famous for its long, iridescent train, formed mainly from elongated upper tail coverts, not the tail itself, with eye‑spotted feathers that are raised and vibrated in courtship displays.