With the alias of Java peacock, it belongs
to the Phasianidae family of Galliformes order. Its scientific name is Pavo
muticus (Latin), or Green Peafowl (English).
The body-length of the male bird is about
140 centimeters and the female bird is about 100 centimeters. Body feathers of
the male are turquoise blue green, and the lower back has red copper luster. The
vertex has a tuft of erect crista. Tectrices of the tail can extend to be a tail
screen up to over 1 meter, and the feather has numerous large eye-shaped spots
formed by violet, blue, yellow, and red colors. When spreading its tail, it
shows extraordinary flamboyance dazzling the eyes. Body feathers of the female
are mainly brown, with green glow. It doesn't have tail screen.
It inhabits in valleys at an elevation of
lower than 2,000 meters, as well as open ground near light forests, bamboo
forests and bushes. It is often seen that one male with many female companions
moving about together. Mainly consuming mushrooms, berries, grain seeds, grass
seeds, it also feeds on insects, batrachians and lizards. It begins to breed in the middle ten days of
February, usually building nests in sunken ground in ridges and tussock grass
and bushes on shady slope. It lays 4 to 8 eggs per brood, generally 5 to 6 eggs,
which are creamy white, brown or milky yellow. The female hatches the eggs, and
the incubation period is 27 to
30 days.
Peacock's beautiful feather has been the favorite adornment
to people all through the ages. In the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911), flower plume" was made of it together with feathers of the brown
eared pheasant. Official ranks were then differentiated by the number of plumes.
Peacock's movement is like dancing gesture, based on which the folk art
"peacock dance" has formed, which is strong and vigorous, graceful and
inebriating.
Green Peafowl has a narrow distribution in
China, only found in the south of Yunnan Province with a total amount of 600 to
950.