Indian Peafowl

Pavo cristatus

The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a bird found in India, United States and Sri Lanka. Dry forests, farmland and village edges in India and Sri Lanka. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Pavo cristatus
Region	Asia
Found in	India, United States and Sri Lanka

🏡 Where the Indian Peafowl lives

Dry forests, farmland and village edges in India and Sri Lanka.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts40%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%
🐾 Small animals10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Only the male (the peacock) has the giant shimmering tail feathers.

Hear the Indian Peafowl

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1166423. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Indian Peafowl

Where does the Indian Peafowl live?

The Indian Peafowl lives in India, United States and Sri Lanka. Dry forests, farmland and village edges in India and Sri Lanka.

What does the Indian Peafowl eat?

seeds and nuts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), small animals (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Indian Peafowl endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Asia

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.