As visually striking as the may be, peacocks (males of Pavo cristatus) have become the equivalent of pigeons at many zoological parks. Surely they seem out of place when compared to the more usual avian fauna of New Jersey the chickadee or Canada goose, but they have become so familiar that they've nearly ceased to be exotic. Still, it's not every day that I see a bird so garishly adorned, and I'll be curious to see how a number of peacocks placed in the renovated Astor Court at the Bronx zoo get along when mating season comes along.
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They are beautiful birds! They have become so common here in East Tennessee that I saw a big group of wild ones the other day!
Dave Briggs :~)
Where I live, peafowl are common free-ranging inhabitants of the local zoo as well as an island resort. It is quite sad to think that while the native phasianids of my country are all either locally extinct or endangered, while a non-native relative appears to be so common and tame.
Their utter stupidity helps a lot. They are so acclimated to our presence they literally can't think of us as a danger. In effect, peafowl have become quasi-domesticated and cannot be considered wild animals anymore. Now when people start hunting them...there is a lot of meat on them drumsticks after all.