The day that these pictures were taken, the peacocks were entertaining early morning visitors at the Museum of Appalachia. Their movements were so well choreographed it was as if they had been trained for the occasion. The photographers were so impressed with the beauty and richness of their impressive iridescent blue-green plumage and their slow, elegant display dance that they made dozens of pictures and selected a few of their favorites to share with Inside Anderson County readers. This slideshow may take a while to load on your computer - but it's worth the wait.
About Peafowl
Peafowl are best known for the male's elegant and extravagant tail, which is displayed into a fan and quivered during courtship. The male is called a peacock and the female is a peahen.
The upper tail coverts on the peacock's back are elongated and ornate with an eye at the end of each feather. These are the peacock's display feathers. The display feathers are known as the tail or train even though they grow from the back, not the tail. The tail of the peacock is brown and short as in the peahen. In addition to the plumage, the peacock wears an elegant blue crown or crest.
The peahen is not as brilliantly colored as the male. The peahen's plumage is a mixture of dull green, grey and iridescent blue. In the breeding season, females stand apart by lacking the long tail feathers also known as the train, and in the non-breeding season they can be distinguished from males by the green color of the neck as opposed to the blue on the males.
Peahens lay 4-8 eggs which take 28 days to hatch. The eggs are light brown and are laid every other day usually in the afternoon. The male does not assist with the rearing, and is polygamous with up to six hens.
