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Species authority page

Indian peafowl

Pavo cristatus · Upland game birds

Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus): Male: iridescent blue neck and breast, golden back and sides, long train with eye-spots. Female: brown, grey and cream with no train. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Indian peafowl displaying its train
Photo by Harshitha B J on Unsplash
Scientific name
Pavo cristatus
Family
Phasianidae
In North America
Introduced
Range
Native to India and southeastern Asia. Small semi-domesticated populations are introduced and established in scattered North American localities and Hawaii.
Biology

How to identify it

Male: iridescent blue neck and breast, golden back and sides, long train with eye-spots. [1][2]

Female: brown, grey and cream with no train. [1][2]

Juveniles light yellow to brown and resemble the female; males take about 3 years to grow the train. [1][2]

Weighs 2.7-6 kg; both sexes have spurs (Animal Diversity Web). [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Open forest, forest edge, second growth, scrub and cultivated land. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Solitary or in small groups outside breeding; roosts in trees, diurnal [1][2]

Extremely loud harsh shrieking calls [1][2]

Dust-bathes; eats insects, reptiles, seeds and grain [1][2]

Polygynous; breeds about April-September [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Native to India and southeastern Asia. Small semi-domesticated populations are introduced and established in scattered North American localities and Hawaii.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology