# Indian peafowl (*Pavo cristatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-peafowl  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a medium-sized bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes. It is a terrestrial, sedentary omnivore of forest habitat, with a geographic range of 2,838,000 km². Adults weigh from 3.6 to 4.7 kg, with a representative value of 4.2 kg, and lifespan values reach up to 25 years. It lays one clutch of 5 eggs per year, incubated for 28 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years; the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 3.62 kg – 4.7 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 23.2 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 25 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 28 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Pavo
- species: *Pavo cristatus* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Pavo caeruleus*, *Pavo cristatus indicus*, *Pavo cristatus primus*, *Pavo nigripennis*, *Phasianus gallus cristatus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the Indian peafowl?

The Indian peafowl is a bird in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Other English names for it include Peahen, Peacock, Blue peafowl and Indian peacock.

### How heavy is the Indian peafowl?

Adult Indian peafowl weigh from 3.6 to 4.7 kg, with a representative value of 4.2 kg. This places it in the medium size class.

### What does the Indian peafowl eat?

The Indian peafowl is an omnivore.

### What habitat does the Indian peafowl live in?

The Indian peafowl lives in forest habitat and is terrestrial and sedentary.

### Is the Indian peafowl endangered?

No. The Indian peafowl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the Indian peafowl live?

The Indian peafowl has a lifespan of 23.2 years, with values up to 25 years reported.

### How many eggs does the Indian peafowl lay?

The Indian peafowl lays 5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 28 days.

### Who named the Indian peafowl?

The Indian peafowl, Pavo cristatus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-peafowl