Peacock Colors

Peacock colors are amazing and make them the most astonishing birds on earth. They are recognized for their beautiful, colorful appearance and large size. Although they live in the wild, people often keep them as pets due to their gorgeous appearance. You might hear their unique noisy calls, “meow meow,” even when you are far away from them.

The term peacock is often used for male birds while female birds are called peahens. Babies are called peachicks and as a family, together they are called peafowl. There are only three species of these birds including Green Peafowl, Indian Peafowl, and Congo Peafowl.

Moreover, there is a wide range of peacock colors. Every color and pattern of these birds looks amazing. In the following article, we have mentioned all about these birds’ colors, so make sure to check it out.

The gorgeous appearance of these birds completely depends on their color variation. The peacock feathers have different colors including bronze, blue, gold, green, black, and turquoise. However, the peacock colors we normally see on their overall body don’t describe their actual color. The neck of the peacock birds often determines their color. There are around 15 colors of peacocks that attract everyone towards them. Following are the colors of peacock birds.

• Purple
• Jade
• Green 
• Indigo
• Peach
• Taupe
• Cameo
• Sonja’s Violeta
• Midnight
• Hazel
• Buford bronze
• White 
• Opal
• Charcoal 
• Blue 

Common Peacock Colors

The most common peacock colors are green, brown, and blue. Most people usually have these colors of peacock pets. Their feathers have different colors but their neck color will determine their exact color. 

• Green: Green peafowl have green feathers on the neck and head. They have glittering green necks. Additionally, you will find dark green crests and dark wings in their appearance.
• Brown: Peacocks of this color type have brown tails and copper on their different body parts. They have chocolate brown tails. Along with that, there will be brown eye spots in the species of Buford bronze.
• Blue: Blue peacocks are bold blue on the neck and head. They have white patches above and below their eyes. Its head is crowned by a fan of feathers with a blue tip.

Rare Peacock Colors

Some colors that are rarely found in peacocks are peach, red, pink, white, brown, and purple. We often get a chance to see green and blue peacocks as people often keep them as their pets. However, the reason for not commonly seeing those peacock colors can be due to their genetic changes. As we know, some peacocks are albino and their body colors turn white due to lack of pigment. Moreover, the leucism species is born yellow but turns white after reaching adulthood.

The peacock colors are not only due to pigment but they get their colors through pigmentation and a combination of structural coloration. This combination results in astonishing colors of peafowls that make them one of the most striking birds. Moreover, the feather colors of these birds mostly depend on how feathers are built rather than pigment.

The peacock colors are produced when the microscopic structure of feathers interacts with light. The peacock feathers carry tiny, microscopic structures that scatter light and create green, purple, and blue colors that we often see in peacock feathers. Additionally, the darker colors seen on peacock plumage including brown and black are due to melanin pigments.

Sometimes it’s confusing to identify the peahen eggs when they are mixed with chicken eggs. The peahen lays white or grey eggs with some dark spots. Their eggs are larger than chicken eggs. Moreover,  these birds lay around 30-50 eggs every year. The age of sex maturity is 3 years for peahen and peachicks come in yellow when the eggs hatch after a month.

The peacocks start to grow their feathers after the age of 3 months and their feathers become shiny and colorful at the age of 3 years. The peahen and peacock feathers are different from each other. The peahen comes with dull brown feathers while the peacock has green and vibrant blue feathers.

The peacock colors don’t change and their natural color remains the same throughout their lives. However, you might see some variations due to their genetics and age. Sometimes peacock colors look different if you see them from a different angle because their feathers bound and bend light. The feathers of peacocks may look blue from one angle and green from the other side.

The physical trait in peafowl is considered a body pattern. However, the colors and patterns are two different aspects of peafowl. The feather colors of peacocks often describe their body pattern. Peacocks come with five known body patterns including silver pied, white-eyed, black shoulder, pied, and barred wing.

Silver Pied

The peacocks with silver pied pattern are 90% white with 10% color. Along with white, they have blue or green color on their neck. Moreover, they can be dark silver pied or light silver pied. The silver pied pattern in the peahen is almost the same as the silver pied peacock but the peahens have a grey color on their neck rather than blue or green.

White-eyed

This white-eyed pattern is related to the silver pied pattern and is often combined with a pied or black shoulder pattern. This body pattern can be found in different colors of peacock. However, the white-eyed pattern mutation might be less distinct in female peafowl due to the lack of a train and it causes some feathers to turn white and give a frosted appearance. To recognize the white-eyed gene in peahens, look for distinctive white flickering at the end of their body feathers.

Black Shoulder

The black shoulder peacock is a pattern mutation of Indian peafowl, however, they are different from Indian peafowl. The peacock with a black shoulder pattern has plain black wings with a greenish-blue iridescent sheen. Additionally, the black-shouldered peahen has an astonishing appearance. They are cream in color with a rusty neck that is combined with metallic green. 

Pied

Due to pied pattern mutation, peacock feathers lack pigmentation, resulting in random white splotches on their overall body. These white splotches can be found in both peahen and peacock birds. Pied peacocks come in 40% white and 60% colored varieties. The feathers of pied peacocks have white and colored patches. 

Barred Wing

The barred wing in peacocks is the most common and natural pattern and is present in both green peafowl and Indian peafowl. However, the barred wing pattern stays prominently in Indian peacocks. Peacock with barred patterns comes with brown or black color bars while peahens have beige or light brown color patterns. Moreover, the peacocks look more attractive in barred wing pattern than in any other pattern.

The beauty and attraction of peacocks are all due to their colorful appearance. These colorful birds look more astonishing when you keep them in your garden. It is always amazing to see their feathers when they spread them out like a fan. They can be found in 13 different colors along with green and blue. Moreover, they lay white or grey eggs and when their eggs hatch you will see their peachicks in yellow color. While keeping these beautiful birds, make sure to stay conscious about their diet and grooming to maintain their appearance.