Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) Postcard

Animal card showing a beautiful and colourful peacock. The Indian peafowl or blue peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced in many other parts of the world like the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The male peacock is predominantly blue with a fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff and elongated feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. The female lacks the train, has a greenish lower neck and a duller brown plumage. The Indian peafowl is found mainly on the ground in open forest or on land under cultivation where they forage for berries, grains but will also prey on snakes, lizards, and small rodents.