Alarm / Distress Call After Dark

[centrarchid]

Do peafowl produce a distinctive alarm or distress when being attacked by a predator after dark? My dog includes in his round the neighbors property which has peafowl in addition to chickens, ducks and geese. I and dog know the alarms produced by the latter three species but that of the peafowl is not known to us. We hear the peacock crowing a lot but lately a different call is being produced with a purpose I do not know.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I've never had 1 attacked by a predator,,but the males do have a specific "alarm" siren type aaya-aaya when they see something strange to alert all the others.it seems theywill do this much faster if they think it's a severe threat,compared to if I'm coming out to feed them,or water them,,thats a little diffrent tone,more of a greeting. We live in the flat country-prairie area of Illinois,all last nite after 2am all the peacocks was "alerting",,,I didn't think too much about it as occassionally during the night a stray cat or racoon or rabbit may pass thru the yard.But at 5am when I went outside,1 1/2 miles to the south I saw 4 sets of red flashing lites,,thought there may have been a wreck,but later found out that a country bar had burned to the ground.They probably was alerting when the building was in flames,which is very easy to see from here.Nothing gets by them,,,but as far as being under attack and crying out,,I'd think they would be fighting for their lives trying to fly away,or possibly spur the attacking animal.
And a breeding male of 3-4 yrs of age having a 4-5" long train for a tail is pretty helpless if something gets ahold of it in the dark I would think.

 

[NateinFL]

A honk in the middle of the night is a sure sign of distress...makes me jump out of bed and grab the flashlight every time.

 

[cinders55]

I agree with nathhowe, a honk at night means something is happening. Mine woke me a few nights ago around 1am. I heard the honks and grabbed a flashlight. Turned out to be one of our cats who decided to sleep in top of their roof netting. She often gets on top of the net over their shelter in the daytime with no problem. I guess it just startled them in the dark of night.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

A single "honk" isn't as serious as continual "honk-honks" are

 

[centrarchid]

How does honking compare to crowing? They crow through night like chickens.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Really??? Can you get an audio recording of the peas crowing? None of my 50 plus peas crow,at night nor during the daytime.

 

[centrarchid]

Crowing in same context as rooster chicken crowing. Sounds like "heelllppp". I will try to record.

 

[cinders55]

You're right frenchblackhopper, a honk isn't as bad as a series of honks and I should have been more clear. Mine will give a honk if startled but then quiet down. It's the series of honks that tell me to check on them. I wonder if centrarchid means the peas call. Mine like to call in the mornings, but not every morning. I love to listen to them. A lot of times when I hear them call in the evening I go out and can hear an owl in the distance and wonder if they are talking.

 

[centrarchid]

You're right frenchblackhopper, a honk isn't as bad as a series of honks and I should have been more clear. Mine will give a honk if startled but then quiet down. It's the series of honks that tell me to check on them. I wonder if centrarchid means the peas call. Mine like to call in the mornings, but not every morning. I love to listen to them. A lot of times when I hear them call in the evening I go out and can hear an owl in the distance and wonder if they are talking.

I mean peafowl crowing.