One of the 4 peafowls on WAnimals

Birds · Galliformes · Phasianidae

Green Peafowl

Pavo muticus

Endangered

It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary

The green peafowl is the East Asian relative of the common Indian peafowl, larger, more slender and a uniform metallic green rather than the Indian bird's blue. Its ornamental train can exceed two metres. It once occupied the whole of South-East Asia, from north-eastern India to Java, and today survives in populations heavily fragmented by hunting, egg collecting and the loss of the open dry forest on which it depends.

Weight

3 kg – 5 kg

Size

1 m – 3 m

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Hard

13countries16parks21same family

Fun facts

  • Unlike the Indian peafowl, whose females are brown and unobtrusive, in this species both sexes are iridescent green: only the male grows the ornamental train.
  • The fan it spreads is not the tail but the upper tail coverts: the real tail is short and stays hidden behind, holding the structure up from within.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment
Open dry forest, riverine woodland and wooded savannah of South-East Asia
Sexual maturity
3 years
Gestation / incubation
28 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size
4 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/

Where to watch it

Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 16 documentados.

Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Green Peafowl — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

How to help

The green peafowl is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.

It's documented in 7 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.

Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about green peafowl.

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