Peafowl Bird Essay

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Males at lek appear to maintain small territoties next to each other and they allow females to visit them and make no attempt to guard harems. Females do not appear to favor specific male. The males display in courtship by raising the upper tail coverts into an arched fan. The wings are held half open and drooped and it periodically vibrates the long feathers producing a ruffling sound. The cock faces the hen initially and struts and prances around and sometimes turns around to display the tail. The peak season in southern India is April to May, January to March in Sri Lanka and June in Northern India. Habitat The Indian Peafowl is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent and is found in the drier lowland areas of Sri Lanka. In South Asia, it is found mainly below an altitude of 1800 m and in rare cases seen at about 2000 m. It is found in moist and dry-deciduous forest, but can adapt to live in cultivated regions and around human habitations and is usually found where water is available. In many parts of northern India, they are protected by religious sentiment and will forge around villages and towns for scrapes. Some have suggested that the peacock was introduced even earlier. It has since been introduced in many other parts of the world and has become feral. Mortality Factors Adult peafowl can usually escape ground predators by flying into trees. Leopards are able to ambush them however, and in some area such as the Gir forest, peafowl are common prey. Foraging in groups provides some safety as there are more eyes to look out for predators. They are sometimes hunted by large birds of prey such as the Crested Hawk-Eagle and Rock Eagle-Owl. Chicks are prone to predation. Adults living near human habitations are sometimes

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