<p>You’ve read the Greek legend about the “eyes” of the peacock in Open Sesame recently, haven’t you?<br /><br />In Indian mythology, the peacock is the vahana or vehicle of Kartikeya, the son of Shiva. And Krishna is always portrayed with a peacock feather in his hair. The peacock is also the national bird of India and symbolises beauty and grace.<br /><br />Here are some interesting facts about the bird. Technically, only the male bird is a peacock and the female, a peahen. Together, they are called peafowl. They belong to the pheasant family.<br /><br />Did you know that a peacock is one of the largest flying birds if you consider the combined length of its train and wingspan? But though they can fly for short distances, peafowls rarely fly.<br /><br />The colourful train of the peacocks is mostly used when they are mate-hunting. The peahens are believed to choose peacocks according to the size, colour and quality of the trains. The peacocks also dance when the sky is overcast with dark clouds just before it starts raining.<br /><br />Peafowls are ground-feeders and live on insects, plants and small creatures. There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacocks are mostly found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found mostly in Java and Myanmar. They live in groups in forests, on banks of rivers and streams, and in orchards. They perch on trees to protect themselves from predators and prefer to roost in trees or other high places at night.<br /><br />It might interest you to know that a baby peacock can walk, eat and drink on its own when it is hardly a day old. A family of peacocks is called a ‘bevy’ while a group of peacocks is called a ‘party’.<br /><br />Peacocks are not sociable and do not mix well with other domestic birds. If you are interested in watching peacocks from close quarters, pay a visit to the eco park on the banks of the Karanji Lake in Mysore. You will be absolutely fascinated!</p>
<p>You’ve read the Greek legend about the “eyes” of the peacock in Open Sesame recently, haven’t you?<br /><br />In Indian mythology, the peacock is the vahana or vehicle of Kartikeya, the son of Shiva. And Krishna is always portrayed with a peacock feather in his hair. The peacock is also the national bird of India and symbolises beauty and grace.<br /><br />Here are some interesting facts about the bird. Technically, only the male bird is a peacock and the female, a peahen. Together, they are called peafowl. They belong to the pheasant family.<br /><br />Did you know that a peacock is one of the largest flying birds if you consider the combined length of its train and wingspan? But though they can fly for short distances, peafowls rarely fly.<br /><br />The colourful train of the peacocks is mostly used when they are mate-hunting. The peahens are believed to choose peacocks according to the size, colour and quality of the trains. The peacocks also dance when the sky is overcast with dark clouds just before it starts raining.<br /><br />Peafowls are ground-feeders and live on insects, plants and small creatures. There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacocks are mostly found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found mostly in Java and Myanmar. They live in groups in forests, on banks of rivers and streams, and in orchards. They perch on trees to protect themselves from predators and prefer to roost in trees or other high places at night.<br /><br />It might interest you to know that a baby peacock can walk, eat and drink on its own when it is hardly a day old. A family of peacocks is called a ‘bevy’ while a group of peacocks is called a ‘party’.<br /><br />Peacocks are not sociable and do not mix well with other domestic birds. If you are interested in watching peacocks from close quarters, pay a visit to the eco park on the banks of the Karanji Lake in Mysore. You will be absolutely fascinated!</p>
