The peacock (the male of the peafowl species) is a large, iconic bird known globally for its spectacular train of feathers. This shimmering display is a collection of highly elongated upper tail covert feathers marked with iridescent eyespots, or ocelli, not the bird’s actual tail. The vibrant blue and green structural coloration of the male Indian Peafowl makes it instantly recognizable. Many other birds share similar characteristics of size, color, or dramatic plumage, often leading people to mistake ornate members of the pheasant family for the true peafowl. This article explores those look-alikes by focusing on their specific ornamental features.
The Closest Relatives: Ornamental Pheasants
Many birds confused with the peafowl are species within the Phasianidae family, often called ornamental pheasants. These birds possess the long, flowing tails and brilliant colors that draw comparisons to the peacock.
The Golden Pheasant, native to Western China, is a prime example, with a male showcasing a brilliant golden crest and a scarlet-red body. Its long, barred tail feathers contribute to an overall length of up to 41 inches, suggesting a miniature version of the peacock. Similarly, the Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, also from China, features a male with an extremely long, white and black tail and striking scarlet and blue plumage. Both species feature metallic sheens and dramatic head crests that echo the peacock’s grandeur.
Another group, the Peacock-Pheasants (genus Polyplectron), are explicitly named for their resemblance. The Palawan Peacock-Pheasant exhibits dark, iridescent blue-green plumage covered in distinct, metallic-blue ocelli on its back and tail feathers. Although significantly smaller, the male’s specialized feathers and the presence of eyespots make the visual connection immediate. These birds also have a busy, black crest on their head.
Birds with Similar Display Plumage
Other birds achieve a visual impact comparable to the peacock’s fanned train through a specialized display of specific feathers. The Great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus argus) is the most notable example, though its stunning display is remarkably different. The Argus male’s primary feature is its massive, greatly elongated secondary wing feathers, which are far longer than its true tail feathers.
When the male Great Argus displays, he spreads these secondary wings into two enormous, semi-circular fans. These feathers are covered in hundreds of large, intricately shaded ocelli, patterned to create a stunning three-dimensional, ball-and-socket illusion. The effect is visually grand, similar to the peacock’s, but the color palette is a subtle composition of browns, buffs, and black, lacking the peafowl’s vibrant iridescence.
Other birds, like the Satyr Tragopan, create a dramatic spectacle through the display of colored, inflatable skin. The male Tragopan inflates vivid blue facial skin and a patterned, fleshy throat bib, called a wattle, during courtship rituals. This elaborate use of bare skin and specialized feathers creates a striking visual contrast to its deeply colored, speckled plumage.
How to Distinguish Between Peafowl and Look-alikes
Discerning a true peafowl from its look-alikes requires focusing on specific anatomical differences. The most definitive feature is the structure of the male’s display, or “train.” A true peacock’s train consists of highly elongated upper tail coverts. His actual tail feathers are short and stiff, acting as a support structure when the train is fanned.
In contrast, ornamental pheasants, such as the Golden and Lady Amherst’s, have a long, flowing tail composed of their actual, central tail feathers. The Great Argus Pheasant’s impressive fan is made up of its secondary wing feathers, not its tail or tail coverts. Furthermore, the size difference is significant; the Indian Peafowl is a much larger and heavier bird than most ornamental pheasants, often weighing twice as much as a Golden or Lady Amherst’s.
The eyespots, or ocelli, also differ in appearance and location. The peacock’s ocelli are distinctly iridescent, reflecting brilliant blues and greens due to nanostructures within the feather barbules. The Argus Pheasant’s ocelli are non-iridescent, using precise shading and pigment to achieve a painted, three-dimensional look on the wing feathers. Finally, the true peacock possesses a distinctive fan-shaped tuft of small, bare-shafted feathers on its head, which is different from the dense, hair-like crests seen on many pheasant species.