10 Fun Peacock Tail and Voice Facts
- The big colorful tail a peacock shows is actually called a "train" — it's made of very long feathers.
- Each long feather has an "eyespot" that looks like a big eye to help the peacock look impressive.
- The shiny blues and greens come from tiny feather parts that bounce light, not paint — that’s called structural color.
- Peacocks spread their train like a fan to show the eyespots when they want to impress a peahen (the female).
- When a peacock shakes its train, it makes a rattling or rustling sound that helps attract attention.
- Peacocks make loud calls that can sound like "may-awe" or a high "meow" — they use them to talk to other peafowl or warn of danger.
- Their calls are very loud and can be heard from far away, especially in the morning and evening.
- A peacock's train can be very long — sometimes almost 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) — longer than the bird's body!
- Peacocks lose (molt) and regrow their train once a year after the mating season.
- Peahens are browner and quieter; they choose the males with the best trains and the coolest calls.
Did you know? You can pretend to be a peacock by fanning your arms and shaking them to make a fun rattling sound!