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Text: Hristo Lukanov (Bulgaria) Photos: Hr. Lukanov and Krustyo Dubov (the Bulgarian Farm)

The peacock is rightly called the “king of ”, its looks ranks it among one of the most beautiful in the world. With its ability to adapt to different growing conditions, today it is one of the most popular ornamental park birds. Hardly anyone could better describe а peacock, than ancient Hindus: “A peacock has the of an angel, the voice of the devil and the walk of a thief”. Indeed, with his looks, he is the embodiment of perfection and beauty of nature. According to a saying of André Maurois, “Peacock is a triumph of the nature over the art”.

The world has known three types of peacocks, two of which are in Asia and one in Africa, treated as two distinct genus of family. The most popular and widely distributed is the Indian peacock. All three peacocks have 38 pairs of chromosomes (2n). The Indian and the Green can be crossed with each other and produce fertile offspring. The United Peafowl Association (UPA) has referred 225 possible peacock plumage colours. Currently in Bulgaria is situated the largest peacock farm in , with more than 25 colour variations of two basic types: Indian and Green Peacock.

Classification (Clements, 2007)

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Family: Subfamily:

Genus: (Linnaeus, 1758) Genus: Afropavo (Chapin, 1936) Pavo cristatus ( or Blue Peafowl) Afropavo congensis (Congo Peacock) Pavo muticus ( or Java Peafowl)

Pavo muticus Subspecies: • P. m. muticus (Linnaeus, 1758), called Java Peafowl • P. m. spicifer (Shaw, 1804), or Burmese Peafowl • P. m. imperator (Delacour, 1949), Indo-Chinese Peafowl

History and current status According to some literature sources (Boev, 1986), the Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) was brought to Europe during the march of to . On the other hand Aristotle, who lived at the same time, talked about peafowl as an ordinary in ancient Greece. Perhaps the peacock was brought in Greece around 450 BC, and this view is supported by most scientists. Greeks called the peacock "taos", which is close to the Persian name "tavus". Later is widespread in the Roman Empire and ancient Egypt. A number of paintings, coins and frescoes depicting a peacock of this period are found. Perhaps the Romans took those peacocks to the British Isles. The peacock is mentioned in the Bible. Later, during the Middle Ages are spread in the parks of the nobles of Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire (Fig. 1). The word “peacock” in English comes from the Latin-based “Pavo” and Anglo-Saxon “Pawe” and is used from the XVIII century. The earliest evidence of its use is from around 1300 (as “poucok”). Later the name “peafowl” is accepted, which is a general term for peacocks in English literature. The French call it “Paon”, the Spanish “Pavo”, the Dutch “Pauw”, in Germany called “Pfauen”, the Russians “ Павлины ”, the Bulgarians “ Паун ”, etc. Over the past two centuries, especially in the second half of the XXth Century, many mutations in the colour of the plumage of the peacock were created. The first described mutation of the Indian Peafowl is the Black Shoulder, which has been known since the time of . It is believed that Indian Black Shoulder Peacock appeared in the early XIX century; slightly later, the white mutation of the Indian Peafowl has appeared. In the 20s of the XIX century the so called "Pied" mutation was created. In the 60s of the last century the Brown peacocks were created, which are popular today as Cameo. Afterwards the same colour was created in Black Shoulder peacocks (Cameo Black Shoulder). Over the past 30 years many of the colour mutations in peacocks were created, including hybrids between Indian and Green peafowl, called Spalding on behalf of the creator Mrs. Keith Spalding (Jackson, 2006).

Figure 1. Indian peafowl in “Peacocks and chickens” Albertus Verhoesen (1806–1881). Source: Wikipedia.

The Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus) is described for the first time in Europe from Aldrovandi in the early XVII century as a Pavo Iaponensis, based on a Japanese painting and classified by Linnaeus according to Aldrovandi data (Fig. 2). Maybe in the Green peacock is imported from centuries ago. Nowadays there are no wild green peacocks in Japan, but there is mixed blood in their representatives of the Indian peacock. In the beginning of XIX century were described two subspecies of the green Peafowl by François Levaillant and George Shaw. Only in 1949, Jean Théodore Delacour described Indo-Chinese green peacock and makes the assumption that there are three subspecies of Green Peafowl. The green peacock is considered an and is listed as Endangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Wikipedia).

Figure 2. Green Peafowls in Japan “Peacock and Peahen” Artist: Maruyama Ōkyo (1747 – 1821) Source: Wikipedia.

The (Afropavo congensis) was first described as separate species by Dr. James Chapin in 1936 based on exhibits in the Congo museum in Belgium. African Peacock is listed as Vulnerable in The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Wikipedia).

Distribution and appearance

The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) inhabits South Asia in the wild state. As a domesticated bird it is found in almost all parts of the world. In their natural habitat is found to 1800-2000 m above sea level. It is the national bird of India and honored by the ancient Greeks. It was first described and by Linnaeus in his "" in 1758. Over the past two centuries in artificial conditions have been created many colour mutations of ordinary Indian Peafowl (Johnsgard, 1999). Today in the world, mainly in North America are described by the United Peafowl Association (UPA) 225 possible colour variations and mutations, most of which are in the form of Pavo cristatus. The peacock is a large bird; the body length reaches 230 cm for males and about 90- 100 cm for females. Mature Peacock weighs 4-6 kg and 3-4 kg in peahen. What many people wrongly call the tail in the male, are in fact highly elongated sacrum mantle feathers, they are about 150 to 200 pieces with a length of 130-160 cm (Boev, 1986). The real tail is composed of 20 hard feathers with a length of 32-37 cm, which are supporting a cross mantle during the mating game. The male colouration is extremely diverse and beautiful. The wings are light cream, with dark brown-gray- red stripes. The head, chest and neck are turquoise blue and the feathers on the side of the head and upper neck are with bluish-green hue. Two parallel white stripes of featherless skin start from the nostrils and goes to the eyes and over the oral corner to the ear between which is positioned the eye. On his head there is a small hood of bare feathers with tuft on top, like a crown. Main flight- feathers and the tail are reddish-brown. The first part of secondary feathers is dark brown and the rest are whitish-gray with brown transversal streaking. The back is metallic yellow-green. The sacrum cloak is composed of a large number of long feathers of various lengths, ending with the so-called “eye”. The eye is with the bluish- brown kidney-shaped center, surrounded by turquoise blue semicircle, located centrally on an area with ovoid shape and a reddish-brown colour, follows grass green egg-shaped edge surrounded by yellow-green flame-like area. Males acquire their full colour and beauty after their third year. The legs of sexually mature males have a sharp spur. Females are significantly more unimpressive in plumage colour. Part of the neck, back and sacrum are gray-brown-walnut and the upper neck has a slight bluish-green tint. Breasts are whitish-brown and the belly is whitish. Females have a small open crown of feathers. Part of the face and throat are white, and from the beak to the eye there is gray-brown stripe, merging with the brown coronal background. Females have no spurs. In the first year males look like sexually mature females. During the second year they acquire colourful wings, the beautiful tail is emerging and markings of maturity appear on the body.

The Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus) inhabits various parts of Southeast Asia due to the area of distribution and some exterior differences divide these three subspecies: Java Peafowl, Burmese Peafowl and Indo-Chinese Peafowl. It is much more demanding to growing conditions, especially to low temperatures, unlike his relative the Indian peafowl (Johnsgard, 1986). Therefore, it hasn’t received so widespread and popularity, although it can be seen in zoos and private collections from Asia to North America. • Java Peafowl (P. m. muticus) as evidenced by his name is found in the wild state on the Indonesian island of Java and was met in , but has disappeared. It is considered the most beautiful representative of green peacocks. • Burmese Peafowl (P. m. spicifer) inhabits northwestern Burma () at altitudes up to 900 meters, before was met in Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. It is larger than the other green peacocks. Since 1940 is recognized as the national symbol of Myanmar (Fig. 3). • Indo-Chinese Peafowl (P. m. imperator), nowadays inhabits the largest area from all green peacock subspecies: Burma, , Indochina and South . According to some authors it dwells province. Green peacocks, which are assigned to the Indo- Chinese green peacock, are likely to be a separate subspecies (Malge et al, 2002).

Figure 3. The national symbol of Myanmar (P. m. spicifer)

The Green Java Peafowl (P. m. muticus) is one of the largest birds among the Galliformes. Males reach up to 250-300 cm including the tail and weight of 4-5 kg. Mature females reach 100-110 cm body length and weight of 3-4 kg. The tail for both sexes is about 40-47 cm long and feathers on the mantle of sacrum are up to 180 cm. The wingspan of an adult male reaches to 180 cm. The Green Peafowl (Fig. 4) is with less pronounced than the Indian, especially outside the breeding season. Males show their full beauty after the third year. The head is small, with turquoise blue colour with a slight green tint, ornamented with the bundle long blue-green feathers collected in a compact crown. The face is white with a blue stripe running from the base of the beak to the eye. In the area of the ear and lower jaw there is a yellow strip in the form of a crescent. The neck is long and elegant with beautiful metallic green coloured feathers. Chest and back are also a green colour with a metallic sheen. Primary flight-feathers are light brown and the secondary’s are bluish-gray-brown. Shoulders and the base of the wing are gray-brown with light blue-green sheen. Legs and belly are gray-brown. The mantle resembles to the one of the Indian peacock, but the main colour here is yellow-green. Outside the breeding season, the colour of the male and female is uniform and is characterized by the above description, except for the mantle in males, which is replaced by a gray-brown cruciate feathers. The tail is gray-brown with a slight greenish tinge and slight transversely striations.

Figure 4. Green Peafowl, artist: Daniel Giraud Elliot (1835–1915) Source: Wikipedia.

The Burmese Peafowl (P. m. spicifer) is larger than the other two subspecies and slightly more compact build. The neck and chest are metallic blue-green to olive-green. Crown is blue-violet. The wings are bluish and secondary flight-feathers are black- brown.

The Indo-Chinese Peafowl (P. m. imperator) has a similar vision to the Java peafowl, but the neck, chest and back are a little darker green, and the secondary wing feathers are also darker.

Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis ) inhabits rainforest along the valley of Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa. It is accepted as the National Bird of Congo (Fig. 5). It occurs at altitudes of 300 to 1,500 meters, it is a non-domestic species, but is grown under artificial conditions. The comparative analysis of mitochondrial DNA shows close affinity between the African and Asian peacocks, and the difference in the exterior is based on the geographical separation between these species, probably dating from the Miocene (Wikipedia).

In comparison with the Indian and Green peacock, the Congolese peacock is significantly smaller and non-representable in appearance. There is absence of highly developed cloak, the sexual dimorphism is also less pronounced. Males have a body length of 64-70 cm, and 60-63 cm for the females. The birds weight is about 1.1 to 1.2 kg.

Figure 5. Congo Peafowl male and female. Photo: Nico van Wijk.

The male has a compact body. The head is bluish- black with non-feathered skin around the eyes, the crown is small, representing a bundle of white thread-like feathers. Throat area skin is red and non-feathered. During the breeding period neck, chest and wings are metallic blue. Shoulders, back and sacrum have gray-green color. The tail is small, with a beautiful metallic blue tip.

The female has a brown neck, breast, belly and fly feathers. Back, sacrum part, tail and wings are gray-green-brown. The colour of the female is given by the green tip of each , the main colour is gray with a brown transverse stripes. Primaries are light brown with dark brown transverse stripes. An interesting point here is that both sexes have spurs which are highly developed in the males.

Behavior and reproduction

The peacock can reach 20 years of age, but males usually live to about 10-12 years and females up to 10 years. The female is reproductive to its 15 to 18 years of age. Currently in the farm in Bulgaria there is a 16 year-old white peahen, which lays fertile eggs. During the breeding period, which typically runs from February to June, the male peacock has the most interesting behavior. In August he changes his mating plumage. During the courtship in order to attract females, the peacock spreads fan-like his mantle (train), which is maintained by spreading tail. He bends forward to the female with outstretched wings and begins to shake his fan-like mantle, issuing characteristic thrills. [Note: Even though we often call this display of feathers a ‘(fan)tail’, the proper term is a ‘train’. The actual main tail feathers (rectrices) are the 20 short, stiff quills which are hardly impressive with their neutral colours however they are crucial to displaying the train (an extension of the upper tail coverts) as their positioning and strength is necessary to uphold the fan-shaped display.]

Right: Indian Peacock displaying. Photo: Krustyo Dubov.

In spring the male makes a typical powerful loud sound. The mating calls of the Green peacock are more quiet and subdued. Peacocks are very interesting to observe during this period. This is also the time of fierce battles between the contenders for female hearts. Even in these situations, movements and looks of fighting males are graceful and smooth.

Left: Green Peacock. Photo: Hristo Lukanov.

Below: Black shouldered peacock and hen. Photo: Krustyo Dubov.

During the breeding period the female lays three to seven eggs, which hatched in about 28 days. They make the nest into the ground, hidden by overgrown grass or under a bush. When the eggs are taken from the bird, the female can lay 20-25 eggs per season. Eggs can be hatched in an incubator or under chicken hens or hens. In the wild, while stealing her eggs, the female lays again, but a smaller clutch (2-5). During the nesting it is necessary to provide security for the female.

Left: Female Opal. Photo: Krustyo Dubov.

During the breeding season a male gathers in a group with 2-6 females, while during other periods peafowls form large flocks of 30-40 birds. Reports exist for 1200 to 1500 birds (Boev, 1986). Peafowls spend most of their time on the ground in search of food. At night and at rest they use the branches of tall trees away from predators.

The Green peafowl lay about 3-6 eggs; in artificial conditions and when eggs are taken, the peahen can lay more, but it cannot reach the productivity of the Indian peafowl. Interesting information is that in captivity the Green peafowl usually forms a pair and monogamy is relatively common.

Congo Peafowl is a strictly monogamous bird and its ‘love game’ is similar to that of the Asian peacocks but lacks the magnificent cloak. In courtship, the male spreads his fan-like tail, the wings down and spreads lumbar feathers. The female lays 2-4 eggs in the nest and the male is often around, guarding her. The eggs hatch in about 26-27 days (Rahmanov and Bessarabov, 1991).

Left, from top to bottom: Bronze; Bronze white eyed; Opal white eyed. Photos: Krustyo Dubov.

Nutrition

In the wild peafowls eat seeds, fruits, grasses, insects and mollusks, and even small , lizards and mammals (voles, mice, shrews). Their diet depends greatly on their habitat. Peacocks living near settlements, often eat fruits and vegetables from nearby gardens, seeds left after harvest, residues from the food of the people, etc... In artificial environment, nutrition of birds is an important point, particularly important in juvenile and growing period, moult and breeding period. After hatching, during the first weeks of peafowl chicks the meal has to be easily digestible and protein rich. It is appropriate to use a combination of boiled and crumbled eggs, dried egg meal, fresh unsalted curd, well chopped white chicken meat with grind yellow corn, boiled or oatmeal. In addition, after the first-second week it is good to diversify the food with wax worms, sprouted grain or dried insects, larvae or yoghurt. From the third week start giving well chopped fresh greens, such as alfalfa, clover, lettuce, nettle, yarrow, dandelion, and others. Adding shredded carrots, pumpkins, leafs of green onions and garlics after one month of age affects the health and intestinal flora very well. Cereals are the main food for adolescent and adult peacocks. During young adulthood are given: mixtures of grind corn, rice, millet, wheat, and in growing and mature period a mixture of whole grain (yellow corn, wheat, milo, barley, rapeseed, linseed, hemp, canary seed, sorghum, beans, vetch, peas, chickpeas, etc.). Some breeders use granules for cats or puppies as a food supplement. This is a useful trick for taming of the peacocks from a young age to get used to human presence. You should not overdose these extras due to the salt contained in them. Today there are special whole-meal compound feeds for different categories of peafowls, which can be used even after hatching (starter), in the adolescent period (grower), during the first two years (developer) and during the breeding season (breeder). In the absence of such food, a high protein compound food intended for turkeys can be used successfully in the first two months. During the growth of feathers peacocks need a food rich in sulfur - containing amino acids and vitamins. During the breeding season vitamin-rich food and microelements are particularly important. Right, from top to bottom: Female Peach; Indian Blue Pied; Spalding Pied; Purple. Photos: Krustyo Dubov.

Mutations

The earliest mutation in Indian Peacock is Black Shoulder, followed by White and Cameo. The main mutations are based on the ten known colours of plumage at this moment (India Blue, White, Cameo, Charcoal, Purple, Buford Bronze, Peach, Opal, Midnight, Jade, Taupe, Sonja's Violete) and their combination with the five patterns (Wild type (barred-wing), Black Shoulder (solid-wing), Pied, White-eyed, Silver Pied) of the Indian peafowl and its hybrids with Green peafowl, or so-called “Spalding”. According to the latest update of mutations and possible colour combinations in peacock, UPA presents a list to assist breeders with 225 colour variations and include wild species and subspecies. The most popular at this time are the original Indian peacock, Green Java peacock, Indian Black Shoulder peacock, White peacock, Cameo and some new mutations: India Blue White-eyed, India Blue Silver Pied, India Blue Pied, Black Shoulder White-eyed, Black Shoulder Silver Pied, Purple, Purple Pied, Opal, Opal White- eyed, Opal Black Shoulder White-eyed, Bronze, Buford Bronze White-eyed, Cameo Black Shoulder, Spalding hybrid, Spalding Black Shoulder, Spalding White, Spalding Pied, Peach, Midnight Black Shoulder, etc.

Peafowl Varieties (UPA classification):

1. Green, Muticus-Muticus (Javanese) 2. Green, Muticus-Imperator (Indo- Chinese) 3. Green, Muticus- Specifier (Burmese) 4. India Blue 5. India Blue Pied 6. India Blue White-Eyed 7. India Blue Pied White-Eyed 8. India Blue Silver Pied 9. Black Shoulder 10. Black Shoulder Pied 11. Black Shoulder White-Eyed 12. Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 13. Black Shoulder Silver Pied 14. White 15. Cameo 16. Cameo Pied 17. Cameo White-Eyed 18. Cameo Pied White-Eyed 19. Cameo Silver Pied 20. Cameo Black Shoulder 21. Cameo Black Shoulder Pied 22. Cameo Black Shoulder White-Eyed 23. Cameo Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 24. Cameo Black Shoulder Silver Pied 25. Charcoal (varieties under consideration) 26. Charcoal Pied 27. Charcoal White-Eyed 28. Charcoal Pied White-Eyed 29. Charcoal Silver Pied 30. Charcoal Black Shoulder 31. Charcoal Black Shoulder Pied 32. Charcoal Black Shoulder White-Eyed 33. Charcoal Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 34. Charcoal Black Shoulder Silver Pied 35. Purple 36. Purple Pied 37. Purple White-Eyed 38. Purple Pied White-Eyed 39. Purple Silver Pied 40. Purple Black Shoulder 41. Purple Black Shoulder Pied 42. Purple Black Shoulder White-Eyed 43. Purple Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 44. Purple Black Shoulder Silver Pied 45. Buford Bronze 46. Buford Bronze Pied 47. Buford Bronze White-Eyed 48. Buford Bronze Pied White-Eyed 49. Buford Bronze Silver Pied 50. Buford Bronze Black Shoulder 51. Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Pied 52. Buford Bronze Black Shoulder White-Eyed 53. Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 54. Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Silver Pied 55. Peach 56. Peach Pied 57. Peach White-Eyed 58. Peach Pied White-Eyed 59. Peach Silver Pied 60. Peach Black Shoulder 61. Peach Black Shoulder Pied 62. Peach Black Shoulder White-Eyed 63. Peach Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 64. Peach Black Shoulder Silver Pied 65. Opal 66. Opal Pied 67. Opal White-Eyed 68. Opal Pied White-Eyed 69. Opal Silver Pied 70. Opal Black Shoulder 71. Opal Black Shoulder Pied 72. Opal Black Shoulder White-Eyed 73. Opal Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 74. Opal Black Shoulder Silver Pied 75. Midnight 76. Midnight Pied 77. Midnight White-Eyed 78. Midnight Pied White-Eyed 79. Midnight Silver Pied 80. Midnight Black Shoulder 81. Midnight Black Shoulder Pied 82. Midnight Black Shoulder White-Eyed 83. Midnight Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 84. Midnight Black Shoulder Silver Pied 85. Jade 86. Jade Pied 87. Jade White-Eyed 88. Jade Pied White-Eyed 89. Jade Silver Pied 90. Jade Black Shoulder 91. Jade Black Shoulder Pied 92. Jade Black Shoulder White-Eyed 93. Jade Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 94. Jade Black Shoulder Silver Pied 95. Taupe 96. Taupe Pied 97. Taupe White-Eyed 98. Taupe Pied White-Eyed 99. Taupe Silver Pied 100. Taupe Black Shoulder 101. Taupe Black Shoulder Pied 102. Taupe Black Shoulder White-Eyed 103. Taupe Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 104. Taupe Black Shoulder Silver Pied 105. Sonja's Violete 106. Sonja's Violete Pied 107. Sonja's Violete White-Eyed 108. Sonja's Violete Pied White-Eyed 109. Sonja's Violete Silver Pied 110. Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder 111. Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Pied 112. Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder White-Eyed 113. Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 114. Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Silver Pied 115. Spalding 116. Spalding Pied 117. Spalding White-Eyed 118. Spalding Pied White-Eyed 119. Spalding Silver Pied 120. Spalding Black Shoulder 121. Spalding Black Shoulder Pied 122. Spalding Black Shoulder White-Eyed 123. Spalding Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 124. Spalding Black Shoulder Silver Pied 125. Spalding White 126. Spalding Cameo 127. Spalding Cameo Pied 128. Spalding Cameo White-Eyed 129. Spalding Cameo Pied White-Eyed 130. Spalding Cameo Silver Pied 131. Spalding Cameo Black Shoulder 132. Spalding Cameo Black Shoulder Pied 133. Spalding Cameo Black Shoulder White-Eyed 134. Spalding Cameo Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 135. Spalding Cameo Black Shoulder Silver Pied 136. Spalding Charcoal (varieties under consideration) 137. Spalding Charcoal Pied 138. Spalding Charcoal White-Eyed 139. Spalding Charcoal Pied White-Eyed 140. Spalding Charcoal Silver Pied 141. Spalding Charcoal Black Shoulder 142. Spalding Charcoal Black Shoulder Pied 143. Spalding Charcoal Black Shoulder White-Eyed 144. Spalding Charcoal Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 145. Spalding Charcoal Black Shoulder Silver Pied 146. Spalding Purple 147. Spalding Purple Pied 148. Spalding Purple White-Eyed 149. Spalding Purple Pied White-Eyed 150. Spalding Purple Silver Pied 151. Spalding Purple Black Shoulder 152. Spalding Purple Black Shoulder Pied 153. Spalding Purple Black Shoulder White-Eyed 154. Spalding Purple Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 155. Spalding Purple Black Shoulder Silver Pied 156. Spalding Buford Bronze 157. Spalding Buford Bronze Pied 158. Spalding Buford Bronze White-Eyed 159. Spalding Buford Bronze Pied White-Eyed 160. Spalding Buford Bronze Silver Pied 161. Spalding Buford Bronze Black Shoulder 162. Spalding Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Pied 163. Spalding Buford Bronze Black Shoulder White-Eyed 164. Spalding Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 165. Spalding Buford Bronze Black Shoulder Silver Pied 166. Spalding Peach 167. Spalding Peach Pied 168. Spalding Peach White-Eyed 169. Spalding Peach Pied White-Eyed 170. Spalding Peach Silver Pied 171. Spalding Peach Black Shoulder 172. Spalding Peach Black Shoulder Pied 173. Spalding Peach Black Shoulder White-Eyed 174. Spalding Peach Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 175. Spalding Peach Black Shoulder Silver Pied 176. Spalding Opal 177. Spalding Opal Pied 178. Spalding Opal White-Eyed 179. Spalding Opal Pied White-Eyed 180. Spalding Opal Silver Pied 181. Spalding Opal Black Shoulder 182. Spalding Opal Black Shoulder Pied 183. Spalding Opal Black Shoulder White-Eyed 184. Spalding Opal Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 185. Spalding Opal Black Shoulder Silver Pied 186. Spalding Midnight 187. Spalding Midnight Pied 188. Spalding Midnight White-Eyed 189. Spalding Midnight Pied White-Eyed 190. Spalding Midnight Silver Pied 191. Spalding Midnight Black Shoulder 192. Spalding Midnight Black Shoulder Pied 193. Spalding Midnight Black Shoulder White-Eyed 194. Spalding Midnight Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 195. Spalding Midnight Black Shoulder Silver Pied 196. Spalding Jade 197. Spalding Jade Pied 198. Spalding Jade White-Eyed 199. Spalding Jade Pied White-Eyed 200. Spalding Jade Silver Pied 201. Spalding Jade Black Shoulder 202. Spalding Jade Black Shoulder Pied 203. Spalding Jade Black Shoulder White-Eyed 204. Spalding Jade Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 205. Spalding Jade Black Shoulder Silver Pied 206. Spalding Taupe 207. Spalding Taupe Pied 208. Spalding Taupe White-Eyed 209. Spalding Taupe Pied White-Eyed 210. Spalding Taupe Silver Pied 211. Spalding Taupe Black Shoulder 212. Spalding Taupe Black Shoulder Pied 213. Spalding Taupe Black Shoulder White-Eyed 214. Spalding Taupe Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 215. Spalding Taupe Black Shoulder Silver Pied 216. Spalding Sonja's Violete 217. Spalding Sonja's Violete Pied 218. Spalding Sonja's Violete White-Eyed 219. Spalding Sonja's Violete Pied White-Eyed 220. Spalding Sonja's Violete Silver Pied 221. Spalding Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder 222. Spalding Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Pied 223. Spalding Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder White-Eyed 224. Spalding Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Pied White-Eyed 225. Spalding Sonja's Violete Black Shoulder Silver Pied

Acknowledgement: I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Krustyo Dubov (Bulgaria) who is manager of the largest peafowl farm in Europe, for supporting with information and photographs in the preparation of this article. Also for his hospitality to every lover of these beautiful birds decided to visit his farm near the Black Sea, Bulgaria.

Note by the editor: We heartily recom- mend to re-read one of our former articles on Peafowl by Monique de Vrijer, see http://www.aviculture- europe.nl/nummers/07E02A06.pdf

Above: Pied female. Right: My little son in the peacock farm. Photos: Hristo Lukanov.

Sources

Boev NK, 1986. Dekorativni ptici. Zemizdat, Sofia. Clements JF, 2007. The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, ed. 6. Christopher Helm, London. Jackson, CE (2006). Peacock. Reaktion Books, London. Johnsgard PA, 1986. The Pheasants of the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Johnsgard PA, 1999. The Pheasants of the World: Biology and Natural History. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. Madge S, McGowan P and GM Kirwan, 2002. Pheasants, , and : A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails, and Sandgrouse of the World. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J. Rahmanov AI and Bessarabov BF, 1991. Fazanovie: soderzhanie i razvedenie. Agropromiz- dat. Moscow.

Internet Sources The Bulgarian peafowl farm. http://paunite.alle.bg/ (12 February, 2013, date last accessed). Legg's Peafowl Farm. http://www.leggspeafowl.com/ (12 February, 2013, date last accessed) National Geographic. Peacock. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/peacock.html (10 February, 2013, date last accessed). Pavo Civic Club “Peacock day”. http://www.peacockday.com/peahens.html (15 February, 2013, date last accessed). Peacock Information Center. http://www.peafowl.com/ (12 February, 2013, date last accessed) United Peafowl Association (UPA). http://www.peafowl.org/ (12 February, 2013, date last accessed). Wikipedia. Peafowl. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peafowl (05 February, 2013, date last accessed). Wikipedia. Indian Peafowl. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Peafowl (07 February, 2013, date last accessed). Wikipedia. Green Peafowl. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Peafowl (08 February, 2013, date last accessed). Wikipedia. Congo Peafowl. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Peafowl (08 February, 2013, date last accessed) Wikipedia. Congo Peafowl. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B 5%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0 %B8%D0%BD (08 February, 2013, date last accessed).

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