" -unless the family unit of peafowl want to attract my pet ferret Wizzle to mate with him, Darwin's theory doesn't hold water.
Quill music and foot stomping are how the peafowl let the reptile ( which can neither hear no see with the same senses as warm-blooded creatures) that the peafowl is not appropriate food and that it is potentially dangerous. The peafowl is not bluffing. A great deal of this ritualised display conceals vulnerable regions of the bird, in anticipation of the inevitable strike of an angry reptile put on defense. The peafowl intentionally instigates the reptile to strike- and repeatedly- so that it can use its most powerful weapons. The peafowl uses its legs to flog -a double set of hard, slender clubs, armed with powerful kicking thorns- the equivalent of fangs in the shape of thorns- and there are the clawed feet themselves- the wings and pecking beak are involved as well- but essentially, the train is a matador's cape designed for the peacock to engage in close combat with the python and the varanid and the civet cat...
That was a long digression. The scepter plumes are not only the longest quills in the train, they are also the most structurally sound. They are the strongest plumes in the train and are most useful during a specific sort of nest defense stratagem- the scepter plumes deserve a thread of their own.
The sickle feathers have a very special role in anti-predation and nest defense as well as intention display aka "showing off" as well. These plumes obscure the wings and further confuse the target that is being threatened.
The rump- is of course where the physical back of the bird ends and the half foot span of those first few exquisite rows of upper tail coverts begins. Here is where the smallest little "eye spots" are situated. I learned in India and amongst Javanese Hindus in Java that each region of the peacock's train - all moulted naturally- each plume belongs to one of a number of topographic regions associated with the iconography of the deity Vishnu . I won't go into full convoluted metaphysics of the firmament of Vishnu at this point in time- suffice to say- there is a scepter- a sickle, a mace, conch, penumbrae and umbrae. Penumbrae is the term for tiny eyes in the train. Umbra for the larger ones.
Mace plumes are those feathers that lack an ocelli, which bridge scepter plumes from umbrae plumes. The conch plumes are those sickles with eyes- the longer sickles with just a vestige of an ocelli are referred to as serpents. Before you gasp in exasperation know that I'm not creative enough to make this terminology/vernacular up on my own. This is how the most sacred bird of Hinduism is broken down into parts- and these parts when moulted were highly symbolic for the adherents of this ancient faith.
I'm relating them as a guide to discussion. I don't expect anyone but a natural history illustrator to adopt the lingo as it's really only helpful in the shared description of what would otherwise be very challenging"
I know my peafowl will show off and rattle their tales at my emu, and if the unsuspecting emu keeps advancing, they will jump up at their faces and chase them. My peafowl have made a game out of chasing the emu............. if they could smile I am sure that is what they would be doing as they chase the emu unmercifully up and down the fence line.
They surely have the bravery to take on larger threats then themselves.
Quill music and foot stomping are how the peafowl let the reptile ( which can neither hear no see with the same senses as warm-blooded creatures) that the peafowl is not appropriate food and that it is potentially dangerous. The peafowl is not bluffing. A great deal of this ritualised display conceals vulnerable regions of the bird, in anticipation of the inevitable strike of an angry reptile put on defense. The peafowl intentionally instigates the reptile to strike- and repeatedly- so that it can use its most powerful weapons. The peafowl uses its legs to flog -a double set of hard, slender clubs, armed with powerful kicking thorns- the equivalent of fangs in the shape of thorns- and there are the clawed feet themselves- the wings and pecking beak are involved as well- but essentially, the train is a matador's cape designed for the peacock to engage in close combat with the python and the varanid and the civet cat...
That was a long digression. The scepter plumes are not only the longest quills in the train, they are also the most structurally sound. They are the strongest plumes in the train and are most useful during a specific sort of nest defense stratagem- the scepter plumes deserve a thread of their own.
The sickle feathers have a very special role in anti-predation and nest defense as well as intention display aka "showing off" as well. These plumes obscure the wings and further confuse the target that is being threatened.
The rump- is of course where the physical back of the bird ends and the half foot span of those first few exquisite rows of upper tail coverts begins. Here is where the smallest little "eye spots" are situated. I learned in India and amongst Javanese Hindus in Java that each region of the peacock's train - all moulted naturally- each plume belongs to one of a number of topographic regions associated with the iconography of the deity Vishnu . I won't go into full convoluted metaphysics of the firmament of Vishnu at this point in time- suffice to say- there is a scepter- a sickle, a mace, conch, penumbrae and umbrae. Penumbrae is the term for tiny eyes in the train. Umbra for the larger ones.
Mace plumes are those feathers that lack an ocelli, which bridge scepter plumes from umbrae plumes. The conch plumes are those sickles with eyes- the longer sickles with just a vestige of an ocelli are referred to as serpents. Before you gasp in exasperation know that I'm not creative enough to make this terminology/vernacular up on my own. This is how the most sacred bird of Hinduism is broken down into parts- and these parts when moulted were highly symbolic for the adherents of this ancient faith.
I'm relating them as a guide to discussion. I don't expect anyone but a natural history illustrator to adopt the lingo as it's really only helpful in the shared description of what would otherwise be very challenging"
I know my peafowl will show off and rattle their tales at my emu, and if the unsuspecting emu keeps advancing, they will jump up at their faces and chase them. My peafowl have made a game out of chasing the emu............. if they could smile I am sure that is what they would be doing as they chase the emu unmercifully up and down the fence line.
