Dancing Peacock — Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Birds

This is our entry in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Birds.

This fine peacock in Yala National Park near Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka, is dancing to impress a  peahen nearby. We may have enjoyed his five-foot tall plumage more than she did. According to a  study at Perdue University, which outfitted peahens with sophisticated eye-tracking equipment, peahens are more concerned with safety and food than with peacocks. The peahens in the study did pay attention to dancing legs and rattling tails, but not to the plumage above head-height. (As engineers, we would question whether the test headgear affected peahen behavior. How could peahens possibly ignore that splendid display?)

Dancing Peacock with Peahen

This photo was taken on February 13, 2018.