The male peacock is unmistakable because of the fan of feathers that is often confused with its tail, where the plumage is that keeps the circular fan vertical when the peacock extends it.
The peacock's plume can have up to 150 feathers and can be up to a meter and a half long, where green and blue tones predominate, with rounded black areas that make up the so-called ocelli of the which is known as the peacock's tail.
This display of color is only seen in adult males, so the main reason is obvious. The bank or albino peacocks behave in the same way as the rest of the peacock breeds and use their huge front tail feathers in the same way. Read on and discover with our site why the peacock spreads its tail
Sexual dimorphism and different functions
The female peacocks also have a plume of feathers in front of the tail but smaller, brown in color and not stand up The purpose of the brownish tones on the peacocks' tails is to facilitate camouflage when they are caring for their eggs or young. The peacock builds a semi-buried nest at ground level.
The fan of long, colorful feathers of the male peacocks will determine which individual will mate with multiple females, and They will be the ones who choose the one who contributes the best genes to the offspring. To do this, they are based on the size (diameter) and the color contrast of these very special pens.
Peacocks are polygamous and it is common for a male with good acceptance by females to fertilize three or four in each courtship season.
A new hypothesis about the peacock's tail
It is necessary to point out that a 2013 investigation calls into question the theory of the determining role of the fan of peacock tail feathers when selecting the future father. Placing small cameras on several peacocks, they determined that the females pay little attention to the area of the peacock's tail or fan of feathers.
In my opinion, a result like that of the experiment does not necessarily contradict the theory that the peacock's tail plays a fundamental role in courtship. If not, why do all the male peacocks perform the same dance, ending with the wheel or display of the fully deployed feather fan?
The results seem inconclusive to me if we analyze natural selection, which has been favoring specimens with more striking colors and longer feathersThe fact that females focus more on other areas of the peacock's frontal vision during courtship, assuming that the experiment has been carried out correctly, could imply that females have a special ability to assess the contrast between blue, green, copper and black colors of the peacock fan, and therefore do not need to focus as much as we humans would.
Other circumstances to display
In addition to the previous reason that answers why peacocks extend their tails, there is another compelling reason that justifies this fact. Male peacocks also display their enormous feathers as a threat signal against other rival males and when defending their territory from some predators.
Curiosities about the peacock's tail
- The peacock's tail has up to 150 feathers, which fall naturally during the fall, once the breeding season is over. Peacock courtship takes place in the month of April in some areas where wild peacocks live (South India), and in the summer month in the rest of their natural habitats.
- These feathers have a kind of oculi towards the tip of the tail, capable of changing color when moving due to the fibers that make up the feathers.
- The structure of ornamental feathers is different from that of flight feathers, with separate fibers first and united fibers in the case of flight feathers.
