Indian peafowl
Amazing fact
Indian peafowl swallow pebbles that help grind grain in the gizzard.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Indian peafowl swallow pebbles that help grind grain in the gizzard.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Indian peafowl
- Scientific name
- Pavo cristatus
- Japanese name
- インドクジャク
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Pavo
A bird of India, Sri Lanka and nearby countries. At night it sleeps perched on the branches of its regular roosting tree.
In the breeding season, the male fans out the feathers that grow from its lower back to win a female's attention.
It is an omnivore: besides grass, nuts, fruit and young shoots, it eats insects, lizards, frogs and even snakes.
How the Indian peafowl lives
It is active during the day. It takes dust baths that help remove parasites and other bugs. After breeding, males group together, while females group with young birds.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web多摩動物公園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: males 1.8–2.3 m, females 0.9–1 m多摩動物公園
- Weight
- about 4 kg多摩動物公園
- Lifespan
- 10–25 years in the wild, 10–23.2 years in captivityUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- By day (diurnal)University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Grass, nuts, fruit, shoots, insects, and other foods多摩動物公園
- Range
- India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh多摩動物公園
Where the Indian peafowl has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- インドクジャク
- 简体中文
- 蓝孔雀
- 繁體中文
- 藍孔雀
- 한국어
- 인도공작
- Español
- Pavo real común
- Français
- Paon bleu
- Deutsch
- Blauer Pfau
- Português (Brasil)
- Pavão-indiano
- Italiano
- Pavone reale
- हिन्दी
- भारतीय मोर
- العربية
- طاووس هندي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Merak Biru
- Русский
- Обыкновенный павлин
- Türkçe
- Hint tavuskuşu
- ไทย
- นกยูงอินเดีย
- বাংলা
- ভারতীয় ময়ূর
- اردو
- ہندوستانی مور
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — インドクジャクChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Pavo cristatusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Indian peafowl, look for this
- Look for the eye-like markings on the male’s long display feathers.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
多摩動物公園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Indian peafowl
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Phasianidae
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