Peacocks are fascinating to watch because of their stunning colors. These colorful birds can take anyone’s breath away.
If you aren’t captivated by their vibrant colors, their sounds will certainly catch your attention.
Unfortunately, peacocks are on the verge of extinction so it’s quite difficult to find some species. Also, peacocks are not native to the United States, but they can be found in zoos or wildlife parks.
If you live in Florida and want to know what types of peacocks are available in your area, this article is for you.
Let’s take a look at the five peacock species that can be found in Florida.
5 Peacocks Species in Florida
1. Congo Peacocks
The Congo peacock is a native of Africa, it is also known as the African peacock.
This peafowl is generally on the big side, the male which is the peacock is about 25 to 28 inches in length.
The female which is the peahen is about 24 to 25 inches in length. Male peafowls are generally larger compared to females.
Another amazing feature these beautiful birds possess is their color. Their color makes it easy to differentiate males from females.
The male Congo peacock has a mixture of green, blue, and violet feathers with about 14 feathers. The female on the other hand has a mixture of chestnut brown, blue and green.
The female peafowl has less bright colors. This is because they need their mildly colored feather to blend with their environment as camouflage.
Asides from the color differences between the male and female peafowl another differentiating factor is their sound.
The male of this bird makes a high-pitched “gowe” sound. Also, the female makes a high-pitched “gowah” sound.
Thankfully, these peacocks aren’t picky eaters; they feed on leaves, grains, fruits, and insects. They can barely run out of food options because they are omnivores.
2. Partially Albino Indian Peacock
This peacock species is super unique and rare; they have a rare mutation that results in partial albinism.
Nonetheless, Partially Albino Indian Peacocks are still beautiful birds regardless of their partial albinism feature.
This peacock is usually a mix of white, green, and blue colors. And because of their albinism nature, they have the white color occurring frequently.
This Albino Indian Peacock has a life span of 10 to 12 years.
The major differentiating factor among these peafowl is their size. The males are usually bigger than the females with a size of 39 to 45 inches in length.
The females have a length of 37 to 40 inches. This peacock is a lot bigger than the Congo peacock.
This albino peacock species is also known for making high pitch sounds; this sound gets more intense during their mating season.
Being omnivores, they feed on plants, insects, fruits, and so on. You may likely never see this peacock in the wild because they are mostly held captive.
This is a preservative measure that ensures that these parrot species are not attacked by humans which might eventually lead to the extinction of this species.
The Partially Albino Indian Peacock is quite aggressive and dominating. And, they become more aggressive during their mating season.
Here is an article I wrote on peacock species in Hawaii
3. Green Peacock
The green peacock is quite easy to come by, there’s a high chance of coming across this bird in zoos; however, they are native to southeastern Asia.
This peacock species is endangered which is why they are rarely found in the wild.
Unlike most peafowl, there are a lot of similarities between the male and female species of this bird.
Both males and females have a characteristic green color mixed with blue, and black. The male species of this ground bird is usually larger than the female.
The females are about 100-160 cm in height while the males are about 180-300 cm in height.
Although they are ground birds, you can see one flying when they are going to roost.
These birds don’t stress when it comes to feeding; they are omnivores and they eat practically anything.
They eat leaves, fruits, roots, little reptiles, and insects. This peafowl is also known to make lesser noise compared to other peafowls.
The females are known to make an “aow-aa” sound, while males make a “ki-wao” sound.
4. Indian Peacock
Although this bird is native to India, it is the most frequently seen peacock around the world.
This peafowl has a characteristic distinct color. It appears in a mixture of blue, green, and brown colors.
The male species are mostly brown.
The male has a blue head with brightly colored long feathers which they use in attracting the females.
The females on the other hand have duller colors and their feathers aren’t as long as that of the male.
The feathers of the female usually function as a camouflage to protect chicks from predators.
The male species can grow up to 3.5 meters long and weigh about 5.5 kg. Their female species which are smaller than the male are about 2 meters long and weigh about 3kg.
This bird is a ground bird but they take flights to the top of tall trees to roost.
These beautiful peafowls also have a distinctive sound which makes it easy for them to be detected.
They make different sounds for different reasons; they make sounds when they are trying to communicate when attacked by predators, and when angry.
5. Ocellated Turkey
You might be wondering why a turkey made it into the list. Well, the Ocellated is a product of a cross-bred which occurs between a turkey and a peacock.
This bird has a lot of similarities with an actual turkey.
Ocellated Turkey is a popular face in most zoos however it is originally native to Mexico.
These birds are very shy; they love to be by themselves. So, they are not a good pet option.
Just like peacocks, the male specie of this turkey is a lot bigger than the female.
The male turkey is about 5kg in weight while the female is about 3kg in weight. This turkey also has amazing colors just like peacocks.
The color of the female is dull while that of the male is bright and shining. The female turkey is a mixture of green, blue, and gold.
The male on the other hand is a mixture of blue, green, red, gold, and black.
Ocellated Turkeys just like peacocks are omnivores; they have food readily available to them.
They feed on insects such as ants, beetle, leaves, nuts, little reptiles, and so on. This ground bird is also gradually going extinct; this is due to the activities of hunters.
The males are also known to make loud melodious sounds which increase during their breeding season.
Conclusion
Meeting a peacock has become a rare occurrence; this is because they are gradually getting extinct.
In Florida, peacocks can be found mostly in zoos or wildlife parks. This is because they aren’t left in the wild anymore due to attacks from hunters.
Some of the peacock species that can be found in Florida are Congo Peacock, Partially Albino Indian Peacock, Green Peacock, and Ocellated Turkey.
A general feature possessed by these peacocks is the size variation between the males and females.
