Indian Peafowl

The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is one of the most visually spectacular birds on the planet. The male — commonly known as the peacock — is famous for his enormous iridescent tail train, which he fans into a shimmering display of blues, greens and golds to attract a mate. Those eye-spotted feathers aren’t actually his tail at all, but elongated upper tail coverts — the real tail feathers are the short, dull ones hidden underneath that prop the whole display up. Native to the Indian subcontinent, peafowl have been introduced and kept around the world for centuries, prized for their beauty. The females, or peahens, are often overlooked but are handsome birds in their own right, dressed in subtle browns and greens that provide perfect camouflage for nesting. These photographs capture the Indian Peafowl in all its extravagant detail.