Indian Peafowl (Peacock)

This is a spectacular ornamental feather from a male Indian Peafowl. The bird itself is a large, heavy-bodied ground dweller known for its metallic blue head and neck. The male's train can consist of over 150 of these elongated feathers, which are fanned out in a shimmering semi-circle during courtship displays to attract peahens.

Brilliant structural iridescence. The ocellus features a deep midnight blue 'pupil' surrounded by concentric rings of turquoise, bronze, gold, and emerald green. The long barbs are predominantly metallic green.

Open and hair-like (plumulaceous) along the majority of the shaft; tightly interlocked and pennaceous only within the ocellus (eyespot) to create a solid reflective surface.

The main barbs are silky and flexible, while the eye of the feather is stiff, smooth, and glossy due to the densely packed iridescent barbules.

The presence of the 'ocellus' or eyespot with deep blue and bronze concentric circles is the diagnostic feature of this species.

Open deciduous forests, woodlands, and cultivated areas. Often found near water sources and human settlements.

Native to the Indian subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan). Widely introduced and feral in North America, Australia, and Europe.

Omnivorous foragers that control insect and small reptile populations. In their native range, they serve as an important prey species for large feline predators like leopards and tigers.

Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus) feathers are similar but generally have more green/bronze in the ocellus and different neck plumage.

Peacocks do not grow their full train until they are at least three years old. Each year after the breeding season, they molt these magnificent feathers and regrow them.

Good; the ocellus is intact with vibrant color, though some distal barbs show typical separation consistent with natural molting and handling.