A Review of Population Ecology and Behavioral Adaptations of Indian Peafowl in Western Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The Indian Peafowl, the national bird of India, is widespread and distributed over various habitats throughout India. It has been particularly prevalent in the agricultural landscapes of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). This review summarizes the data available on the ecology of peafowl populations, their habitat use and behaviour, and their interactions with humans, focusing specifically on Western U.P. Western U.P. is comprised of mostly rich, fertile alluvial plains, with the majority of its landscape dominated by agriculture, irrigation canals, fruit tree orchards, and remaining forest patches. There is great heterogeneity within the environment of Western U.P., making it suitable for stable populations of peafowl. The density of peafowl varies between the different types of habitat, with the highest peafowl densities being found in agro-forest mosaics and 'culturally protected' areas of the village. Peafowl have a high degree of ecological plasticity and display omnivorous feeding habits, nesting on the ground camouflaged against the substrate, breeding in the wet season only during the monsoon, and developing adaptive behavioural strategies for avoiding predators. Behavioural shifts have resulted in changes to foraging behaviour, along with tolerance of being in close proximity to humans, allowing greater survival opportunities for peafowl in anthropogenically-altered environments. Regions such as western Uttar Pradesh may be impacted by an array of emerging threats, including crop damage related conflicts, pesticides, fragmented habitat, and road mortality, that affect local population dynamics. Although the conservation status is Least Concern globally; region-specific ecological assessments are still necessary. This review illustrates the value of integrating a community-based approach to conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, and conducting long-term ecological monitoring to help ensure that Indian Peafowl populations are sustained in western Uttar Pradesh.