They look stunning!
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What comes to mind first when we talk about peaco*cks?
Their colourful feathers, right?
Yes, of course, whenever it comes to peaco*cks, their spread colourful feathers are the first thing that comes to mind.
But the wings of these white peaco*cks will take your breath away!
The pride of the peaco*ck is the glory of God. — William Blake
The charm in their white wings will surely amaze you as they are popular for their spectacular beauty.
Their tail, also known as a train can measure up to 4–5 feet, sometimes longer than their whole body! The longer tail looks more beautiful when they spread them to perform their special ‘peaco*ck dance’.
Just have a look at this peaco*ck standing in pride of its white tail’s glory. Doesn’t it seem like it’s simply trying to boast out its beauty in front of the viewers?
Peaco*cks are native to India (also the National Bird of India) and the first known white peaco*ck was spotted in 1830. However, when British Empire came to India they spread them all over America and Europe.
They are found in South Asia and now are considered almost extinct. We will look into the reason behind their declining population but before that;
let’s first check out the reason behind their unique white feathers.
It’s important to note that the white peaco*cks are not another species of peaco*cks but are white due to a genetic mutation called leucism. It causes the partial loss of pigmentation in birds resulting in their white appearance.
There are 3 to 6 eggs in a clutch of a peahen and it’s interesting to note that the chicks start flying just after 3 days from birth. The chicks are yellow when born and turn white when they mature.
However, the white peaco*cks are sometimes also mistaken as albino peaco*cks, but it’s not true. As albinos have red or pink eyes whereas these white birds have blue eyes!
They generally live somewhere between 10 to 20 years. Conversely, they may live for 50 years in captivity.
The white peaco*cks look more glamorous than the white peahens. During the mating seasons, they used to flap their wings which looks like a white fan, and dance around to attract the females.
There are small crystals present on their wings which shine due to reflection in sunlight when they flap their plumage to dance and it looks mesmerizing!
Like the colourful ones, they are also omnivorous and feed upon insects, plants, and small animals.
Do you know that ‘peafowl’ is the collective name for the peaco*cks and the peahens?
But their patches of white spots make them more visible to the predators. The most common hunters are leopards, tigers, dholes, hawk-eagle and rock eagle owls. As a reason, they have now become almost extinct and now it’s only possible to see them in wildlife reserves! Some people keep them as pets but this is quite rare.
Not just the carnivorous animals are the reason behind their declining population but the widespread hunting for the collection of eggs and chicks, meat and feathers, and the human interference as well as the loss of natural habitat together contribute towards this.
In India, the white peafowls are protected by some villages in different parts of the country for their religious practices. They are believed to symbolize eternity, purity, and unconditional love.
In medieval times, the peaco*cks have also considered a delicacy and they were displayed on the plates for the guests. However, its meat was not found tender.
There are many beliefs among people regarding different astonishing birds but I don’t think we need any reason for praising the beauty of white peaco*cks. They simply look stunning!
For more interesting facts and fun related to amazing creatures andothernaturalelements, you guys can check out my blog page too: It’s for nature lovers!
