The peahen is predominantly brown in colour, with a white face and iridescent green lower neck, and lack the elaborate train.

The peafowl lives mainly on the ground in open forests or on cultivable lands where it forages for berries and grains, and also preys on snakes, lizards and small rodents.

The Indian peafowl was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Pavo cristatus.

[5][10] The Indian peafowl's size, color and shape of the crest make them easily identifiable within their native distribution range.

The eye-spots consist of a purplish-black, heart-shaped nucleus, enclosed by blue and an outer copper rim, which is surrounded by alternating green and bronze.

[17] The train feathers of the male Indian peafowl are also moulted every year, usually starting at the end of the monsoon in August or September and are fully developed by February to March.

[19] English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) presented firm evidence for it being a variety under domestication, which is now well established and accepted.

The gene which produces melanism in the male, causes s a dilution of colour in females, which have creamy white and brown markings.

[24] There can be problems if birds of unknown pedigree are released into the wild, as the viability of such hybrids and their offspring is often reduced as per Haldane's rule.

[14] The wings are held half open and drooped and it periodically vibrates the long feathers, producing a ruffling sound.

Downy young may sometimes climb on their mothers' back and the female may carry them in flight to a safe tree branch.

[49] In 1907, American artist Abbott Handerson Thayer showed in his painting that the eyespots helped form a disruptive camouflage.

However, the mechanism may be less straightforward than it seems and the cost could be that the hormones that enhance feather development also results in the depression of the immune system.

[55] This finding suggests a chase-away sexual selection in which females evolved resistance to the male ploy of elaborate trains".

It determined that the peacock's train was not the universal target of female mate choice, and do not correlate to male physical conditions.

[59] The British research team argued that alternative explanations for these results had been overlooked, and concluded that female choice might indeed vary in different ecological conditions.

[57] A 2010 study on a natural population of Indian peafowls in Northern India proposed a "high maintenance handicap" theory.

[63] Large predators such as tiger, leopard, hyena, dhole, and golden jackal, can ambush an adult Indian peafowl.

[69] The Indian peafowl is widely distributed across India and Sri lanka, with introduced feral colonies in many parts of the world.

[71] Poaching of peacocks for their meat and feathers and accidental poisoning by feeding on pesticide treated seeds are known threats to wild birds.

[38] The birds have been part of the agricultural ecosystem for centuries, where they aid in seed dispersal and feed on pests such as insects and small rodents.

[28][74][75] In urban areas, they can damage plants in gardens, attack their reflections (thereby breaking glass and mirrors), perch and scratch cars or leave their droppings.

[77] Various methods have been employed to restrict access to the farmlands such as usage of jute fencing and application of non-poisonous pesticides to reduce fatality of the birds.

[85] In the Indian subcontinent, many Hindu deities are associated with the bird, and it is frequently depicted in various temple art, mythology, poetry, folk music and traditions.

The Ramayana describes that the head of the devas, Indra, who unable to defeat the asura king Ravana, sheltered under the wing of a peacock and later blessed it with a "thousand eyes" and fearlessness from serpents.

[94][95] A golden peacock is considered as a symbol of Ashkenazi Jewish culture, and is the subject of several folktales and songs in Yiddish.

Peacock tails, in isolation from the rest of the bird, are rare in British heraldry, but are used frequently in German systems.

[100] The Indian peacock feathers are used in many rituals and ornamentation and its motifs are widespread in architecture, coinage, textiles and modern items of art and utility.

[31] Indian peacock motifs are widely used even today such as in the logos of the NBC television network and the Sri Lankan Airlines.

[101][102] The term "peacocking" is often used as a means of depicting pride in English language and is used to describe someone who is very proud or gives a lot of attention to his/her clothing.