All fanned out and looking pretty!
The male peafowl, or peacock, has long been known and valued for its brilliant tail feathers. The bright spots on it are known as "eyes", and inspired the Greek myth that Hera placed the hundred eyes of her slain giant Argus on the tail of her favorite bird.
Indian Peafowl is iridescent blue-green or blue in the head, neck and breast. The back, or scapular, feathers are vermiculated in black and white, while the primaries are orange-chestnut. The so-called "tail" of the peacock, also termed the "train," is not the tail quill feathers but highly elongated upper tail feather coverts. It is mostly bronze-green, with a series of eyes that are best seen when the train is fanned. The actual tail feathers are short and grey-coloured and can be seen from behind when a peacock's train is fanned in a courtship display. During the molting season, the males shed their stunning train feathers and reveal the unassuming grey-coloured tail which is normally hidden from view beneath the train. Both species have a crest atop the head which is also present in the females.
The female peacock is duller in comparison. It is mostly brown, with pale underparts and some green iridescence in the neck, and lacks the long upper tail feather coverts of the male.
The plumage of the peacock, and the peahen's preference for its exorbitance, is a classical example of sexual selection and especially the handicap principle. However, in recent years scientific research has shown that the size and brilliance of a male's plumage does not meaningfully correlate with his mating success nor his health, and that instead the key factor for attracting females is the vocalizations made prior to mating.
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