Proud as a peacock is mainly for courtship demand, which is caused by sex hormones secreted by gonads. It can only happen to male peacocks. Generally, the phenomenon of opening the screen is the most in March and April. Besides, it is also a defensive behavior. When frightened, it will open the screen to demonstrate.
Why do peacocks open their screens? Proud as a peacock is courtship! Proud as a peacock's courtship, which attracts the attention of female peacocks, is also a defensive behavior. As early as the19th century, Darwin, a famous British biologist, explained this, which is the famous "sexual selection" hypothesis. He believes that among birds that practice monogamy, the more females each male mates with. The more offspring you have. Therefore, any feature that enables males to mate with more females is beneficial to reproduction, and the bright color of males is such a feature, because females seem to be more willing to mate with ornate males.
Courtship behavior: This is also the main reason for proud as a peacock. Generally, only male peacocks will open their screens, because female peacocks are generally unattractive and have no such gorgeous and slender tail feathers. Due to the reproductive needs of male peacocks, they need to show themselves with beautiful feathers to win the favor of female peacocks. Therefore, peacocks usually open their screens more often in spring.
Defensive behavior: Most of the peacock feathers we see have eye-shaped stripes and are composed of many colors, such as blue, green, yellow, red, etc. When the peacock is attacked, they will shake their feathers and make a rustling sound, which will make the enemy feel a certain degree of fear.
Frightened: Generally speaking, when tourists frighten peacocks, peacocks will also show their screen-opening reaction. According to research by scientists, people wearing bright clothes, or laughing loudly, will frighten peacocks, and they will show their screen-opening demonstrations, just like hens sometimes explode their hair to protect their chicks.
Why can't peacocks fly? Although peacocks belong to birds, their wings are not developed, because most peacocks live in valleys or shrub forests in Yunnan, and dense forests are not suitable for flying, and they do not need too strong flying ability. In addition, the tail of male peacocks born for courtship accounts for 60% of their body, which is also very unsuitable for flying.
But peacocks can fly, but the flying distance is short. Its legs are particularly strong and developed because it often rushes. And the peacock walks like a chicken, nodding forward and walking. They generally live in groups and mainly feed on leaves, mushrooms, insects, etc. Magnetic peacocks have no tail screens and are not as gorgeous as male peacocks, and most of them are brown.
German zoologist Bern Hald Grzimek also thinks that proud as a peacock is the need of courtship. He observed and studied the life habits of peacocks for a long time. He found that when a male peacock approached the tree or cliff where the female peacock lived, he first leaned back slightly and then unfolded his beautiful color screen, so that the female peacocks at the height could overlook the colorful tail feathers, while the taupe female peacock was not beautiful.