Female Peacocks are hard to miss, but did you know that female peacocks are just as beautiful? In fact, female peacocks are generally more subdued in color than males, with brown, grey and white feathers and less pronounced tails. What’s more, unlike the showy head of the male bird, she often has only a small crest on top of her head and no eye-spots on her tail feathers.
How to attract other peacocks with your feathers
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With all that practice, it only makes sense that peacocks would come up with some pretty special ways to catch their ladies’ eyes.
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Some male peacocks fan out a huge array of feathers called a train that can be twice as long as their bodies. Others have eye-catching colors or patterns on their feathers. And other male peacocks have developed eyes on their wings that they raise and lower to entice peahens into coming over for a closer look.
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Male peacocks are not always successful in attracting peahens, but they do have a backup plan. If another peacock tries to woo one of his ladies, he’ll flash his bright colors, raise and lower his eyes on his wings, and shake his train feathers at her.
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This usually does away with any competition that might stand between him and true love.
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In fact, peacocks are so competitive that in some cases, only one male has been able to mate with all of a female’s possible mates.
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This causes her to stop displaying for all other males and devote her attention exclusively to him. Pretty much any human man would say that’s a win-win situation.
| The primary difference | between male and female peacocks | is that technically, |
|---|---|---|
| the male is called a peacock | and the female is called a peahen. | The proper term |
| for these animals in general, | no matter their sex, is peafowl | Female peacocks are much more muted |
Basic facts about mating in peafowls
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peacocks tend to be polygamous, meaning that they mate with multiple females and show little to no fidelity towards their partners. This polyandrous lifestyle, however, does not mean that peafowls are promiscuous animals
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. Peafowl breeding is actually quite selective; males will choose a specific female from their harm with whom they wish to mate. These females will then lay several eggs that are fertilized by their male partner only during ovulation in order to keep his sperm fresh until an egg is laid.
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Female peafowls will lay their eggs after a relatively short incubation period and then abandon them, leaving their male partners to care for them. It’s an unusual reproductive method that is actually quite common among birds.
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Unlike many other species, peacocks don’t provide parental care for their chicks at all; once they hatch, both parents leave them behind to fend for themselves.
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After mating, peafowls do not have to wait long for another chance to reproduce. In fact, they will mate again in less than a month after their first egg is laid. While females are incubating their eggs and spending most of their time sitting on them, males will often begin courting new mates or looking for another harm of peafowls to colonize.
How are peahens colored?
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It’s easy to see that peacocks are colorful and have big, beautiful tails. However, less is known about their partner in courtship—the peahen. Although they lack many of their partners’ flashy colors, it’s believed that they may be less noticeable to predators because of their plain coloring.
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Some also believe that being duller keeps them safe from other peacocks competing for their attention.
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Peacocks boast a large train made up of elongated upper tail coverts. These feathers, known as eyes or ocelli, are iridescent and quite beautiful. Ocelli come in green, blue, purple, red and gold. There are six to 20 eyes on each side of a peacock’s tail.
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Inside each eye is a colored spot known as an ocellus, made up of either blue or brown pigment. These spots are only visible when a peacock fans his tail open.
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The length and number of eyes on each side are what distinguishes a peacock’s tail from that of other males. The more eyes he has, and in brighter colors, means he is more fit and able to attract peahens.
Why do male peacocks have such extravagant tails?
The male peacock’s train feathers are believed to be a means to attract females. It would seem that female peacocks prefer males with larger and more colorful trains, as there is an inverse relationship between train size and body size in both sexes. So these fancy feathers must serve some other purpose as well.
These feathers are a burden, after all. The colorful train is unwieldy for flight and interferes with mating, so it seems as though peacocks wouldn’t be likely to have survived if they hadn’t found a way to justify their existence.
This was shown by an experiment where male peafowl were given fake trains which they could display at will. They displayed far more often when females were around and seemed to preferentially choose mates on whom they could show off their plumage.
The most likely explanation is that peacocks use their extravagant tails to compete for females, but it’s far from proven.
There are many details to be worked out before anyone can call it a day on evolution’s greatest mystery. For example, researchers have found that young males with more colorful trains turn into better fathers when they grow up, so having an eye-catching train isn’t just about impressing potential mates.
Female peacock vs male
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Male peacocks are also quite beautiful, but they do not have colorful feathers. While female peacocks have five vibrant feathers, male peacocks only have two—the third and fourth wing feathers.
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On both genders, however, these plumage colors change depending on their moods. When a peacock is displaying to attract a mate, its tail fanned open is breathtaking to see up close.
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Why does a peacock have colorful featheWhat is preeningrs The vibrant colors of a peacock’s feathers are meant to attract potential mates. A male peacock can display its bright feathers in one of two ways—either as single vivid spots or as an ensemble display.
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These displays can be used to impress a female peacock, which will raise her interest in mating with him. The male peacock’s display is meant to show off his health and viability as a mate. A colorful feather display helps him ensure that he can pass on his genes to future generations.
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These displays can be used to impress a female peacock, which will raise her interest in mating with him.
Diffrewnce between male and female peacock
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The magnificent peacock has a long history, dating back as far as 2000 B.C. The male peacock displays its beautiful feathers to attract female peacocks and it’s during these courtship rituals that we get to see their true beauty.
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But how can you tell a male from a female peacock? They are equally beautiful, but they do have some slight differences in their appearance that allow us to distinguish between them.
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Male peacocks have a vibrant iridescent green head, neck and bread area, which is much brighter than that of female peacocks. The color pattern on male peacocks also features blue eyes, which are lacking in female peacocks. Another major difference between males and females is their feather size; male peacocks tend to have larger feathers.
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The color and length of peacock feathers are determined by genes. Genes control a lot of different characteristics in an animal, but they’re also influenced by temperature. As temperatures drop during winter, so do a peacock’s feather growth, causing them to look duller and smaller than usual. When temperatures rise in spring and summer, peacocks begin growing their beautiful feathers back again.
White female peacock
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The most common type of peacock is bright iridescent blue, but white varieties also exist. The genes that control color are carried on a complex called a chromosome, and sometimes chromosomes can exchange segments when they pair up to divide during cell division.
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This results in an unusual combination of genes called a recombination event. Since DNA sequencing is possible, geneticists have been able to map out some types of known recombination events in domesticated breeds.
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When these segments get exchanged, a segment from a different color peacock is swapped in to replace it. Sometimes that results in an all-white bird, which comes from a blue peacock and a white peahen
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. All-blue birds come from two blue parents, and all-green birds are produced by two green parents. No other color combinations are known to produce entirely new colors in peafowl.
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The most famous bird in the world is a white peacock called Snowball. Although Snowball was more than likely an albino, she provided a fascinating example for researchers and birdwatchers to study
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. Sadly, Snowball passed away in 2009, but her image lives on as part of DNA model produced by geneticists at Texas A&M University. It’s hoped that further research into genetics can help us learn more about peafowl species conservation.
Summary
The female peacock is among nature’s most beautiful creatures. Their brilliant feathers and breathtaking mating dance captivate and mesmerize anyone lucky enough to see it. Have you ever seen a pair of peafowl? If so, you know just how interesting they can be! Learn more about their beauty and other fun facts in our post today! We’ll discuss where peafowl originally came from, their taxonomy, physical features, various color variations, behavior, mating behaviors and much more.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
Here are some points to know.
The female peacock is known for its extraordinary beauty, particularly during peacocking. But, what actually makes her so spectacular?
Here are a few answers to common questions about female peacocks. (Note: some of these details may vary depending on species).
Where do female peacocks go when they are displaying to males?
In most cases, it’s best for a female peacock to find a large open area where she can strut her stuff without being interrupted. Since she’s in a delicate state during display, high traffic areas such as roads and sidewalks may not be ideal. A female peacock may also choose to use natural settings like grassy meadows or wooded areas where there are plenty of other birds around.
How do female peacocks decide who they will mate with?
Just like with many other species, female peacocks have to go through a courting ritual before mating can take place. While each species is different, most display courtship behaviors that include spreading their tails and displaying their feathers.
Do female peacocks lay eggs?
The answer to that question depends on what type of species a female peacock belongs to. For example, both peafowl and blue peacocks are oviparous. These types of female peacocks lay eggs.
What do female peacocks eat?
It’s important for her to be careful when eating berries and other fruits, however, as these may have toxic compounds in them. A female peacock should make sure that any new food is eaten in moderation until she knows whether or not it will harm her.
How big are female peacocks?
There is a huge difference in size between different types of female peacocks. Blue peacocks, for example, weigh anywhere from 4.5 to 8 pounds while peafowl can weigh up to 16 pounds or more.
How do female peacocks protect their young?
As mentioned earlier, female peacocks are able to spread their tails out as a way to ward off predators. They also use visual cues as well as auditory cues to warn other birds and mammals that they will use force if necessary. In some cases, male peacocks will even come to the defense of their offspring when danger is present. This can happen both in aviaries and in natural settings.
Conclusion
At the end of this article, you will successfully like to know that it is not a simple task to identify whether a peacock is male or female. If you are lucky enough to see one in person, it is important that you take your time and look at all of its features. You may even want to ask an expert before making any assumptions. After reading through our guide on how to tell if a peacock is male or female, we hope that you feel confident in identifying these beautiful birds when they cross your.