Menopausal pea fowl? I had no idea!
In peafowl, the male feathering forms in absence of estrogen. When the ovary stops functioning, the estrogen can drop so low the feathers start to form male coloring in response.
The male-colored peahens don't change in behavior.. they don't dance or court like the peacocks do. while the tail feathers grow and look the same as on peacocks(lacy feathers along the shaft, complete eye pattern at the tip), they don;t get really long or full.
I should have taken pictures of her change.. her neck has already molted out mostly bluish.. her body is still mostly female with the male feathers peppered throughout, but yesterday I noticed she massively shed her tail(actually train, on lower back towards the real tail) feathers like the males do- the females don;t do this massive, all at once molt of the back feathers. Need to take pics soon!
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