What does it mean when a peacock fans its tail? Understanding the reasons behind it in one article
The peacock is the most beautiful ornamental bird, regarded as the “king of a hundred birds”, with special ornamental value, and its feathers are used to make various crafts. Among peacocks, the male is more beautiful, while the female peacock is rather plain in appearance. The gonads inside the male peacock's body secrete sex hormones, which stimulate the brain and cause it to spread its tail fan. Let's take a look below at what it means when a peacock fans its tail!
What does it mean when a peacock fans its tail
Peacock fanning its tail is a modern commonly used expression, meaning unrequited affection or wishful thinking. There is a Sichuan saying, “A peacock fans its tail, indulging in wishful thinking”, meaning that one thinks highly of oneself and believes oneself to be very popular, when in fact it is entirely wishful thinking and self-indulgence. Most of the time, this phrase is used to mock others when one disdains them.
Do female peacocks fan their tails?
Female peacocks do not fan their tails. In the animal kingdom, it is generally the male that is more brightly colored or stronger in order to attract the opposite sex. The peacock's tail fan is mainly composed of the upper tail coverts above the tail. These coverts are extremely long, and the tips have iridescent “eyespots” surrounded by blue and bronze. During the courtship display, the male peacock raises the tail beneath the tail fan, thereby raising the tail fan and moving it forward. At the climax of the courtship display, the tail feathers quiver, shimmer and shine, and produce a rattling sound.
What are the reasons a peacock fans its tail
1. Courtship behavior: Spring is the season when peacocks lay eggs and reproduce. So the male peacock spreads its colorful, brilliantly hued tail fan and constantly performs various graceful dancing movements to show off its beauty to the female peacock, thereby attracting her. After its courtship succeeds, it lays eggs and raises the chicks together with the female peacock.
2. Protecting itself: On the peacock's large tail fan, we can see five-colored golden-green line patterns, among which many nearly circular “eye-like spots” are scattered. These markings are composed of colors such as purple, blue, brown, yellow and red from the inside out. Once it encounters an enemy and has no time to escape, the peacock suddenly fans its tail, then shakes it with a “rustling” sound, and many eye-like spots move about chaotically along with it. The enemy, fearing this “many-eyed monster”, then does not rashly advance.
3. Being startled: In zoos, we often see peacocks fanning their tails. Zoology workers believe that brightly colored clothing and loud talking and laughing by visitors can stimulate peacocks and arouse their vigilance and alertness. At this time, the peacock fanning its tail is also a kind of display and defensive action. Anyone who pays attention to observing various natural phenomena will notice that when predatory animals such as eagles and weasels attack a hen with chicks, the hen also raises its feathers to fight the enemy. This action is merely a defensive response of theirs, and the tail-fanning action of a peacock when startled is the same.