The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) in the Vicinity of the Giant’s Tank in Mannar District, Sri Lanka

Charles Santiapillai,S Wijeyamohan

doi:10.4038/cjsbs.v44i1.7342

Abstract

The Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus is distributed widely across Sri Lanka’s low country dry zone. Observations of the peafowl were carried out in Mannar area for 46 days from July 2003 to October 2005 to understand their distribution and abundance in Mannar area. A total of 624 birds were encountered, of which 342 were males, 270 females and 12 chicks. Of the 342 adult males recorded, 169 (49.4%) were solitary, while 35 (10.2%) were found in male-only groups. Of the 270 adult females observed, only 31 (or 11.5%) were solitary, while 33 (12.2%) were found in female-only groups. Of the 624 peafowl observed in the study, only 49 (7.9%) were present in mixed groups. In these mixed groups, the average adult male:female ratio was 1:0.79. The birds were most active during the period of 1600 to 1900 hrs with a peak between 1700-1800 hrs. Breeding season commenced in December with the onset of the north-east monsoon and reached its peak in May with the start of the dry season. Chicks were observed with peahens in February 2004. The approximate density of peafowl was 13.8 km-2. Peafowls are well adapted to live in human-dominated and human-altered landscapes. The key to long-term survival of the peafowl is lack of conflicts with agricultural communities, and presence of large tracts of scrub forest and associated grasslands with access to water. Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 44 (1) : 61-66, 2015

Highlights

The Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus (Fig. 1) is one of the eight species of game birds (Order: Galliformes) belonging to the family Phasianidae found in Sri Lanka
Observations on the Indian peafowl were carried out in the vicinity of the Giant’s Tank in the Mannar district, Sri Lanka from July, 2003 to October, 2005, during the ceasefire period, which enabled us to carry out field work hitherto inaccessible area
During the period of 46 days, the peafowls were observed with naked eye as the use of binoculars was forbidden by the armed forces of Sri Lanka, from 0600 to 1900 hrs on either side along a 50 km stretch of the A14 highway, from Parayanalankulam in the east to Mantota in the west

Summary

Introduction

The Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus (Fig. 1) is one of the eight species of game birds (Order: Galliformes) belonging to the family Phasianidae found in Sri Lanka. The present study was conducted over a period of 2 years to examine peafowls in the vicinity of Giant’s Tank in the Mannar District, Sri Lanka. Observations on the Indian peafowl were carried out in the vicinity of the Giant’s Tank in the Mannar district, Sri Lanka from July, 2003 to October, 2005, during the ceasefire period, which enabled us to carry out field work hitherto inaccessible area.

Results

Conclusion