Peacock Mating Rituals

Learn about peacock mating rituals, the male peacock dance, and what captures peahen attention.

by Sherri Talbot

There’s little debate that, out of all the birds in the farmyard, the peacock is the showman. Each spring, the tails grow in, the plumage flashes in the sun, and the sharp bite of their voices fills the air with the calls of love. Stiff, short feathers on the underside of the male’s tail lift about 200 long, ornamental feathers into a stunning display several times his own height. The peahen, more subtly dressed in her grays and greens, often seems unimpressed.

Blue peafowl, the most commonly recognized and the one we’ll primarily discuss here, are native to India. There are also green peafowl from Southeast Asia and Congo peafowl. These birds have spread throughout the world, thanks — in large part — to the males’ impressive plumage. In Greek mythology, Hera’s chariot is pulled by a pair of peacocks, demonstrating their early expansion into other parts of the world. Their eye-catching tails made them an early star with those interested in exotic birds.

Peacock Mating Rituals

Of course, it isn’t the human eyes that peacocks are interested in catching! Their glittering displays are aimed towards the females of their own species. The peahen, also brightly colored by most avian female standards, is difficult to impress, however. Frequently, even as her mate displays his tail, she will continue to forage for grains and insects, seemingly having no interest at all in his attempts to grab her attention.

This is a problem for the poor male, who sets up a mating territory in a process called lekking. In lekking behavior, males form small territories and the female travels between the territories to the male she chooses in order to mate. Therefore, the peacock has only visual displays and auditory calls with which to try and coax his dream date over to him. The assumption for many people is that the biggest tail wins.

The length of the peacock’s tail as a mating ritual is an unproven hypothesis put forth by Charles Darwin. The seeming illogic of this handicap to peafowl survival is reported to have concerned Darwin greatly, until he determined that the length of the tail must somehow be related to reproductive appeal. However, studies tracking eye movements suggest that females may not be entirely swayed solely by the length of a male’s tail. Several researchers have suggested a number of alternate explanations for what makes the peacock’s tail so attractive.

One such study examined the eye spots on the peacock’s tail. In Greek myths, these were put there by Hera, in remembrance of her favorite servant, Argus, who was said to have had 100 eyes. These eye spots are believed by some to have a role in mating, since interference with their iridescent coloring decreased the chance of the peacock mating in some studies.

Dakin and Montgomerie’s study also revealed that peacocks are more lucky in love if they show off their best side. They prefer to stand directly in front of the peahen, with their tails angled 45 degrees in the sunlight, probably due to the way it emphasizes the coloring.

However, other studies have mentioned that not all research on visual cues have returned identical results. While some experiments have supported this idea that coloring and eye spots play a role in mating success, others have shown little to no correlation. Freeman and Hare, therefore, hypothesized that peahens might respond — at least in part — to auditory cues from their potential partners.

Peacocks have a distinct series of vocal calls that can carry for some distance. They also make a thrumming sound when they shake their tail feathers and this sound appears to be a motivator for peahens to pay more attention to the male. In their study, Freeman and Hare were able to detect infrasonic sounds caused by this movement, and inspection of the peafowl ear structure suggests that both sexes can hear these low range sounds over distance. Therefore, it appears that there are auditory social signals that can be heard and understood both by prospective mates, and potential challengers.

Neither of these studies explain why the peacock’s tail is so long, however. This incredible train is visually pleasing to humans, and the longer the tail, the more impressive the display. However, since length may have only a limited role in mating, and appears to be a liability to the male’s survival, how did it develop?

Joseph Jordania argues that the role of the tail has as much to do with survival from predators as with mating. He believes that the peacock’s tail and behavior cause potential predators to see the peacock as a poor prey option. While this hasn’t been tested in the peafowl’s native India, there is plenty of visual evidence of peacocks strutting fearlessly near large prey cats. There are definitive studies showing that peacocks who fail to mate are killed by predators at a higher rate than their more successful competitors, but the exact reason for this correlation is uncertain.

Lovely as we may find them, there is much we can’t be sure about regarding the peacock’s beautiful tail. Despite numerous studies, the role their plumage plays in romance, survival, and genetic success remains a secret. The females may or may not be impressed by their size and appearance. Shaking the tail causes vocal signals, which may or may not increase the chance of mating. The only thing we can be sure of is that they’ve captured the attention of humans, allowing for peafowl genetics to travel the world in a way that lesser birds would never manage. Whether their plumage gets the peacock love from the peahens we may be unsure of, but we can be sure it gets us to love them!

Resources
1 Burgess, S.C. (2002) The physical structure, optical mechanics and aesthetics of peacock tail feathers. Design and Nature. Southhampton, UK. ISBN 1-85312-901-1
4, 6, 7 Dakin, Roslyn & Montgomerie, Robert. (2013) Eye for an eyespot: how iridescent plumage ocelli influence peacock mating success. Behavioral Ecology. 24(5), 1048–1057. doi:10.1093/beheco/art045
5, 9, 10 Freeman, Angela R. & Hare, James F. (2015). Infrasound in mating displays: a peacock’s tale. Animal Behavior. Vol 102 pp 241-250
2, 8, 11 Jordania, Joseph (2021). Can There be an Alternative Evolutionary Reason Behind the Peacock’s Impressive Train? Academia Letters. doi:10.20935/AL3534.
3, 12 Petrie, Marion. (1992) Peacocks with low mating success are more likely to suffer predation. Animal Behaviour. Vol 44 p585-586

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Sherri Talbot is the co-owner and operator of Saffron and Honey Homestead in Windsor, Maine. She raises endangered, heritage-breed livestock and hopes someday to make education and writing on conservation breeding her full-time job.

Originally published in the June/July 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.