Thursday, January 29, 2009

Merak Hijau (Green Peacock)



This green peacock (Pavo Muticus) is one of Bandung Zoo's aviary collections. Green peacock is one of the three species of peacocks. The other two species are the blue or Indian peacock (Pavo Cristatus) and the Congolese African peacock (Afropavo Congensis).

The green peacock is native to and can still be found wild on the Indonesia's island of Java (I've seen it myself once in Meru Betiri National Park in the eastern tip of the Island). It can also be found in Indochina, particularly Burma (Myanmar). Its blue sibling, meanwhile, is found mostly on the Asian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh).

Although quite a misnomer, the name "peacock" is generally used to refer to both male and female individuals of this bird. Technically the name "peacock" only applies to the male bird. The female bird is called "peahen", and together they are called "peafowl".

The famous iridescent tail of this bird belongs to the the male species (the peacock) and is used to attract the female (the peahen) in courtship and mating rituals.

Peafowl is omnivorous ground feeder and its diets mainly consist of insects, small animals, and plants.

Peafowl is an important bird for the Javanese and Sundanese (the people and language of West Java). Its beauty has long inspired several forms of art performances. One of them is Tari Merak (The Peacock Dance) whose photos and story I posted earlier here.

9 comments:

Mahmud Yussop said...

It is indeed interesting to note that in the winged kingdom it is the male that are given cosmetic beauty, whilst in the human world it is the opposite.It is a beautiful bird nevertheless.

Anonymous said...

There's a Sundanese saying that if you like your food spicy, you are like peacocks. Because apparently- and surprisingly- they too love to munch on chillies.

Virginia said...

Peacocks abound today. JM has two peahens I think on his blog. THis one is quite the proud colorful guy. Thanks for telling us the difference, I never knew!
V

Anonymous said...

Well..you know you have me with bird photos and you can even see the eyes..Beautiful bird...just beautiful Eki...

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

Peacocks are such beautiful majestic birds and I like the sound they make when intruders come near. Wealthy people used to have peacocks grace their grounds for beauty and security. Regarding your comment about collector car auctions on my site, i think these crazy car collector auctions are on cable, maybe the speed channel according to one of the writers on my set. The place with lots of collector cars and yachts is Monaco. The Historic Grand Prix is something to see. I was there during it and the Bugatis were spectacular.

Fadia Anugrah T said...

its a beautiful bird sir...

n,n

Unknown said...

This is a fantastic shot, Eki! I think we only have here the indian peacock (blue) and also the white one, a veriety of the first. The dark female on my post is the blue peacock and the other is a hybrid I think, a crossbred with the white peacock.

Banu said...

Wow,,,what abeautiful picture! I love it very much,,,it is a beautiful bird,,, nice shot, Sir,,,

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Beautiful, cantik sunguh!