2010/04/15 by S. Harikrishnan, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, K. Sivakumar · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior #Biology #Demography #Ecology #Mating #Period (music) #Population #Seasonal breeder #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Zoology
paper · pdf · doi:10.2174/1874453201003010013
openalex publication_date 2010/04/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Behavioral observations on Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus in the Shivalik landscape of North India were carried out during their mating period, between 31 March and 21 May 2006. Behaviors of peafowl were recorded using scan samples. Overall, females, sub-adult males and adult males spent different proportions of time in different activities, and the proportion of time spent on different activities varied during the mating season. Visitation by females influenced the frequency of displays by adult male Indian peafowl during this period. The study reveals that peafowl behavior in its native habitat broadly conforms to that documented from captive and introduced populations. However, there were some differences between the wild and captive populations in vocalizations, maintenance behavior and spatial distribution of adult males. Since the time spent engaging in these behaviors may affect the cost of display, these results emphasize the need to assess the signaling cost in situ where the behavior evolved.