A while ago, TwoCrows posted an article about birds mourning their companions. I know that they do. I am a little concerned about my 10 year old peacock, Sapphire. Last August, his brother Phoenix died unexpectedly; we think he probably swallowed something that perforated his gut. Or something like that. Anyway, he was obviously missed by his brother, Sapphire, who stayed by him the whole time he was sick, and after Phoenix died, Sapphire went through the typical things peafowl do when they lose a companion; quit eating for a while, moped around, etc. Anyway, I think Sapphire is still missing his brother. He has his full train, he looks and acts healthy, he eats, he begs for treats. But he is not displaying or screaming like he has in the past, this time of year, and he just acts sad. In past years, he and his brother would be sparring about now, screaming back and forth, displaying. But now, Sapphire rarely screams, never displays, even though we have one mature peahen who is with him, and we have a new peahen who is still confined, but our older peas know that she is there. On nice days, Sapphire will go outside for a walk by himself, but that's all he does. Maybe it's a little early in the season yet, or maybe that it's just that now he doesn't have any competition, but I just wonder if he could still be missing his brother, or if maybe his hormone levels may not be quite as raging as they were when he was younger? Or if there is something else wrong. Just curious, if anyone has any thoughts.
