The Indian National Bird

What is the Indian National Bird?

The peacock ("Pava Cristatus (linnaeus)") which is a symbol of grace, joy, beauty and love is the national bird of India. A peacock is a colourful, swan-sized bird with a fan-shaped crest of feathers on its head, a white patch under the eye and a long slender neck.


The Peacock

The male of the species is more colourful than the female with glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green train of around 200 elongated feathers. The female on the other hand is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and it lacks the train.

The elaborate courtship dance of the male by fanning out the tail and quivering the feathers is a gorgeous sight. The peacocks usually perform their dance early in the morning or early evening.

The peacock is widely found in the Indian sub-continent from the south and east of the Indus river, Jammu and Kashmir, east to Assam, south to Mizoram and the whole of the Indian peninsula.