As chic as a peacock

Hey everyone,

First I want to apologize for being absent for so long. I haven't been feeling well this past week so I decided to take a break for a little while. I'm feeling better now so I'll try to get back to posting regularly.

The theme for today's post is the peacock which is one of my favourite animals. I remember visiting to the zoo when I was much younger and there were so many peacock feathers scattered all over the grounds because the birds were allowed to roam freely. I obviously gathered as many as I could, took them home and enjoyed playing many games of "Dress-up" with them.

I still love peacock feathers today and although they're not as abundant as before, I do love using them for various projects when I get my hands on them. The last time I got peacock feathers, I used them to make a haircomb for a friend.

Now what would this post be without a little info on the beautiful bird it's based on?

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. These two species are the Indian Peafowl (shown below) and the Green Peafowl.

photo courtesy ladyhalfbreed.files.wordpress.com

A male Peafowl is known as a peacock and the female is called a peahen. The Indian Peacock has iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage and the Green Peacock has green and gold plumage and the wings are black with a sheen of blue. Both species have a crest atop the head.

photo courtesy subjunctive.net

The extravagant "tail" or "train" of the male peacock is the feature for which these birds are best known and it is proudly displayed when courting females (as seen in the photo above). This is often mistaken for tail quill feathers when it is, in fact, highly elongated upper tail coverts. The train feathers have a series of "eyes" that are best seen when the tail is fanned.

photo courtesy blanc-wall.com

Feathers from the train have long been considered a sign of beauty and knowledge because they are attractive and because they are in the form of an eye.

Peacock feathers or inspired motifs have a unique appearance that when used on clothing and accessories often leads to gorgeous results.

Here are a few lovely items with a peacock theme: