Re: intelligence?

[Tony Nelson-Smith]

While we're talking birds and roads (if a little OT) perhaps I can mention the behaviour of our peafowl. We live alongside the road which leads most directly from the motorway which runs into South Wales (M4) to the beauty-spots of the Gower peninsula most distant from Swansea. When there was a Butlin's Holiday Camp at Barry, one of the excursion-coach routes passed us on the way to Rhossili. Several of the adult peacocks took to displaying across the front of our property and, shortly, these excursion buses would stop so that the holidaymakers could get a good look (and probably photograph them, too). It got to the point where one cock or another would step out into the middle of the road and display across it, effectively blocking that lane. They obviously recognised buses, although they'd try to stop service buses, too. I couldn't figure how to stop them but, one day, a peacock-shaped hole appeared in our larch-lap front fence. I couldn't find either an injured bird or a corpse, but after that they decided to display from the safety of our roof. Of course, one shouldn't seriously apply human values to birds, but I reckon peacocks have what is closely related to pride as well as a certain intelligence.

More seriously, everyone seems to think that the cock displays his erect back-feathers so that the female can admire the decorative, many-eyed side. In our experience, he usually has his back to her (displaying the ludicrously fluffy 'underpants'); obviously, the eyed side is meant to deter rivals. They disply similarly when trying to discourage others from getting at a tasty bit of food.
Tony N-S.








_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself with cool emoticons http://messenger.msn.co.uk