The Peacock Courtship Dance

[Rakesh Sharma]

The male (peacock) Pavo cristatus (Asiatic) Indian Peafowl has iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage. The so-called "tail" of the peacock, also termed the "train," is not the tail quill feathers but highly elongated upper tail coverts. The train feathers have a series of eyes that are best seen when the tail is fanned.
Because peahens prefer the most ornamented male, all the peahens in a group will often mate with the same peacock, forming a harem during the breeding and nesting season. When a peahen comes close enough, the peacock turns his back and brings his train erect, displaying the underlying tail feathers and his dark wings, which he flutters rapidly, From this angle, the brilliant colours of the display feathers ,its sole purpose is to attract a mate. Seeing a peahen approaching, the peacock lifts his train—a cluster of long tail coverts that spread out to form a fan several feet high and extending down to the ground on both sides. The train feathers are iridescent blue and green, with an eye-like spot of brilliant blue, green, and orange, at the end. Each feather is a work of art in itself