The national bird of india Peacock

The Indian peafowl or blue peafowl ( Pavo cristatus), a large

and brightly coloured bird, is a species of peafowl native to

South Asia, but introduced in many other parts of the world.

The male peafowl 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 feathers are raised

into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. Females

lack the train, and have a greenish lower neck and duller

brown plumage. The Indian peafowl lives mainly on the ground

in open forest or on land under cultivation where they forage

for berries, grains but also prey on snakes, lizards, and small

rodents. Their loud calls make them easy to detect, and in

forest areas often indicate the presence of a predator such as

a tiger. They forage on the ground in small groups and usually

try to escape on foot through undergrowth and avoid flying,

though they fly into tall trees to roost.

The function of the peacock's elaborate train has been

debated for over a century. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin

found it a puzzle, hard to explain through ordinary natural

selection . His later explanation, sexual selection , is widely but

not universally accepted. In the 20th century, Amotz Zahavi

argued that the train was a handicap , and that males were

honestly signalling their fitness in proportion to the splendour

of their trains. Despite extensive study, opinions remain

divided on the mechanisms involved.

The bird is celebrated in Indian and Greek mythology and is

the national bird of India . The Indian peafowl is listed as of

Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of

Nature (IUCN).