Indian Blue Black Shoulder Peafowl

Peafowl are beautiful birds that can make a stunning addition to your yard, but be prepared to give these birds the care that they need. They are fun and festive to have around, but it is important to educate yourself about their health and habits before keeping peacocks as pets. The blue peafowl generally makes the best pet, as it is more adaptable, tamer, and less aggressive than other types.

What most people refer to as peacocks are actually called peafowl. (Peacock is the name for the male, Peahen is the name of the female). The Black-shouldered peafowl are a color mutation of the India Blue peafowl. The main difference between the two peacocks is the barred buff and black feathers in the India Blue are replaced with black feathers tipped in dark blue and green in the Black-shouldered.

The males do not differ much from the India Blue, but the hens have a much different appearance. Males look much like those of the India Blue, except that instead of having shoulders of black and white barring, the shoulders are completely black with a bluish-green sheen. Black Shouldered Peahens are cream colored and have a rusty colour neck combined with metallic green coloration and can vary quite a lot between peahens.  Some black shouldered peahens show much darker mottled cream and brown feathers on their backs. Also the amount of green around the Black Shouldered peahens neck varies from peahen to peahen with some much lighter in color.

Greenlands Farm is a member of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP).
Our NPIP status is U.S. Pollorum-Typhoid Clean, AI Clean, and Salmonella Monitored.  

History

Black Shoulder was the first variety to appear besides the natural India Blue and Green subspecies. It is dated back to 1823 in Europe, and the 1830′s in America. It is one of the most common types with breeders and is often used to carry newer and more rare genes. In the 1800’s the Black Shouldered Peafowl was introduced to Europe. The Black Shouldered Peafowl breed is a pattern mutation of the Indian Blue Peafowl.

The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. The function of the peacock's elaborate train has been debated for over a century. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin found it a puzzle, hard to explain through ordinary natural selection. His later explanation, sexual selection, is widely but not universally accepted. In the 20th century, Amotz Zahavi argued that the train was a handicap, and that males were honestly signalling their fitness in proportion to the splendour of their trains. Despite extensive study, opinions remain divided on the mechanisms involved.

There are several colour mutations of Indian peafowl. These very rarely occur in the wild, but selective breeding has made them common in captivity. The black-shouldered or Japanned mutation was initially considered as a subspecies P. c. nigripennis (or even a species), and was a topic of some interest during Darwin's time. It is however only a case of genetic variation within the population. In this mutation, the adult male is melanistic with black wings. Young birds with the nigripennis mutation are creamy white with fulvous tipped wings. The gene produces melanism (development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages) in the male and in the peahen it produces a dilution of colour with creamy white and brown markings.