Can Peafowl Fly? The Protected Animal Status of Phasianidae Birds and the Legality of Breeding

The peafowl is also known as the Yue bird, Nanke, and other names, and is regarded as "the king of a hundred birds." It is the most beautiful ornamental bird and a symbol of auspiciousness, kindness, beauty, and nobility. So can peafowl fly? Are they protected animals? Is breeding them illegal?

There are two kinds of peafowl: the green peafowl and the blue peafowl. The green peafowl, also known as the Javan peafowl, is distributed in southern Yunnan Province, China. The blue peafowl, also known as the Indian peafowl, is distributed in India and Sri Lanka. The blue peafowl also has two mutant forms: the white peafowl and the black peafowl. Artificial breeding mainly refers to the blue peafowl.

Can peafowl fly?

Peafowl can fly. Peafowl can fly, but not very high and not very far. At most they reach about ten-odd meters high and fly one or two thousand meters. Because peafowl are resident birds and live in tropical rainforests, they do not need very strong flying ability, and the dense forest does not provide much flying space. Compared with other flying birds, the peafowl's flight is more like gliding.

Are peafowl protected animals?

The green peafowl is a national first-class protected animal. Peafowl comprise only 2 genera and 3 species. Among them, the blue peafowl has a wide distribution range and mature artificial breeding technology, and does not approach the fragile and endangered threshold standard for species survival, so it is not a national protected animal. The green peafowl is distributed in Southeast Asia and other places. In China it is found only in western and southern Yunnan. Its wild population is scarce, and it is a national first-class protected animal, so it may not be privately raised, bought, sold, or transported. The white peafowl is completely snow-white and is a variant of the blue peafowl, and it is also not a national protected animal.

Is it illegal to raise peafowl?

Raising blue peafowl and white peafowl is not illegal. The green peafowl is a national first-class protected animal, and privately raising green peafowl is illegal. Article 22 of the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that it is prohibited to sell or purchase nationally protected wild animals or their products. When special circumstances such as scientific research, domestication and breeding, or exhibition require the sale, purchase, or use of national first-class protected wild animals or their products, approval must be obtained from the wildlife administrative department under the State Council or a unit authorized by it.

What do peafowl eat?

They mainly eat plant-based feed, and also eat animals such as locusts, crickets, moths, termites, frogs, and lizards. They mainly eat the fruits of Pyrus pashia and Rubus ellipticus, young tree branches and leaves, buds, mushrooms, grass seeds, peas, rice, and other plants and crops, and also eat animal-based foods such as grasshoppers, crickets, moths, termites, stink bugs, earthworms, lizards, and frogs. Under captive conditions, they are mainly fed corn, wheat, bran, sorghum, soybeans and soybean cake, and planted green grass, plus fish meal, bone meal, salt, grit, multivitamins, trace elements, amino acids, additives, and so on, depending on the rearing situation. They like to eat fruits such as pears and Rubus ellipticus, and also eat foods such as rice, sprouts, and grass seeds. In addition, they also eat some insects such as crickets and locusts, as well as some small reptiles. The animal-based food of the African peafowl consists mainly of termites.