Question

Which of the following is the scientific name of peacock
(a) Passer domesticus
(b) Pavo cristatus
(c) Psittacula eupatria
(d) Archaeopteryx lithographica

Answer 1

Hint: Peacock is the national bird of India. It belongs to the order Galliformes and family Phasianidae. They are also known as the common peafowl, or blue peafowl is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent.

Complete answer:
The scientific name of the peacock is Pavo cristatus. Peafowl is a universally known beautiful bird with religious importance. In a wild state, it inhabits forests in the neighborhood of streams and rivers. It is also found in the vicinity of villages and farmlands, in close association with man. Males are larger than females and are attractively colored. Males have a fan- shaped crest, glistening blue neck and chest, sweeping metallic bronze and green tail feathers having purplish copper discs or eye- spots. Females are similarly crested but without a sweeping tail. Head and nape appear rufous- brown and the rest of the upper part brownish.

Additional information:
- Peafowls appear in small groups, often one cock with 3-5 hens. They are bestowed with keen eyesight and good hearing.
- Though diurnal birds prefer to eat and drink at dawn and dusk. Their feet are adapted for scratching and running. They are not efficient in flight.
- Their food consists of seeds, berries, shoots, tubers, insects, lizards, worms, snakes, etc.
So, the correct answer is ‘(b) Pavo cristatus’.

Note:
- The breeding season of the peacock is in April-May in South India. Males perform an attractive nuptial dance with its gorgeous tail coverts and rectrices spread like a fan to attract them.
- The nest is scrap in the ground, rarely lined with sticks, grass, or leaves, usually kept concealed among bushes.
- Cock is polygamous. Eggs, 4-6 are broad, blunt, oval, females incubate the eggs and look after the young ones.