Peafowl - the national bird of India

The beautiful peacock with his long train of colorful feathers, and his rather modest mate, the peahen are commonplace across the birding locations that I visit in the northern part of India. The dance of the peacock with its fanned feathers is a delight to watch and photograph.

As the national bird of India, this bird enjoys protection under law and any killing of peafowl is punishable by a jail term between 3 to 7 years, with fine upto Rs.25,000 or both. As a bird indigenous to the subcontinent, the peacock represents the unity of vivid colors and finds many references in Indian history and culture.

These images of a peacock were taken during a visit to the Rajaji National Park in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand state of India. We chanced upon this proud male serenading a group of females, and continued his dance until he saw us watching. He quickly unfurled his feathers and moved away!

This male was photographed at the famous Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. He was atop a tall tree where he spent the night, and had just come down with his mate.

The female seems quite plain when compared to the male peacock, but she is beautiful in her own way. She is more agile and is seen walking across the large meadow at Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary. 

This female was photographed at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary near New Delhi, India. Peacocks are found not only in thickly forested areas, but even in sparse scrub land and often even in urban areas perched on some old house or tree. Killing a peacock is a crime, and hence they are relatively safe from human predators in the country.

A peacock in flight is a fascinating sight. The huge bird takes off effortlessly, with its train sailing behind it. I had tried to take a picture of a peacock in flight several times, but failed since it flies so less often, and when it does, all you get is a few seconds to focus and shoot. This image was taken at the Rajaji National Park.

At night, the peafowl stay perched on a tree or high above the ground to be safe from predators. Any visit to an Indian jungle brings you sights like these, with peacocks shadowed against the descending dusk. This beautiful bird, under-rated by photographers, is one of my favorite subjects in bird photography due to its beautiful blue and green colors, as well as the stately crest on its head - making it the king of Indian birds!

A few more recent images from in and around New Delhi:

Something that is beautiful...

And a headshot of a proud male!