Common Peafowl

Expansion: Base game

Fame: 0.5 stars

Base Donation Amount: 60

Max Tour Value: 20

Adopt Rarity: 1

Prey Classification: Small Prey

Zoopedia

Conservation Status: Lower Risk

Class: Birds (Aves)

Order: Gamebirds (Galliformes)

Family: Quails, partridge, francolins, pheasants, grouse, turkey (Phasianidae)

Genus: Pavo

Species: cristatus

Temperate Forest

Asia

To unlock the common peafowl in challenge or campaign games, you must earn a 1/2-star zoo fame rating for your zoo.

Peafowl, or peacock, is a common name for three members of the pheasant family. Although these birds are more commonly called peacocks, that name is properly applied only to males; females are called peahens. Two species are Asian: the common or Indian peafowl, and the green peafowl. The third species, the Congo peafowl, is known only from the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). The Asian peacocks are noted for their resplendent trains of long upper tail coverts, which conceal their relatively short tails, and are raised and spread in strutting displays. The feathers are generally iridescent green and gold and are ornamented with eyelike markings of a rich color, known as peacock blue. The same blue also appears on the head, neck, breast, and crest of the common peacock; in the green peacock the head, neck, and underparts are green. The peahens have no trains and are less colorful than the males. Peafowl build their nests on the ground or in the low branches of trees. The birds subsist on an omnivorous diet of worms, insects, small snakes, and seeds.

The common peafowl has been domesticated in many parts of the world, and there are feral populations in the Hawaiian Islands. A white variety has been produced by selective breeding.

Fun Common Peafowl Facts

Content provided courtesy of Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004. © 1993–2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Errors and Trivia

Two versions of the Zoopedia map were made for the common peafowl: one from the base game and another which would be made for the Asiatic black bear and later included in African Adventure and Ultimate Collection. The first map shows a distribution in Korea, the Russian Far East, and parts of China, while the second map adds Japan, mainland Southeast Asia, and the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This map is fine for the Asian black bear, but is completely incorrect for the common peafowl, which is restricted to the Indian Subcontinent south of the Himalayas.

The original word for peacock in English was po-cock. Hundreds of years of living on an island where pea soup is considered a delicacy ended up completely changing the vowel sound.

Common Peafowl Exhibit Guide

The common peafowl is available at the start of campaign or challenge games, requires little space, uses the cheapest fencing, and breeds quickly, making it possibly the best animal to have in the early game—there's even a decent chance it comes premade in any campaign! It needs a mate to meet its social needs and at least one tree to meet its privacy needs.

The cheapest exhibit plan I could find that takes up more than 31.25 squares is an irregular octagon costing $800. In the future I may do an article on how using diagonals affects Zoo Tycoon 2 fencing costs.

Adoption cost: $1,250

Space for first animal: 25 squares (100 triangles)

Space per additional animal: 6.25 squares (25 triangles)

Cheapest Fence: Low chain link fence or post and rope fence, $50/square, $800 total for a 2-animal exhibit

Food: Grass, bananas, berries, or apples, cheapest $75

Enrichment: None required, uses block of ice with apple/banana or lookout post

Shelter: Uses elevated nest box ($2,000) or trees, cheapest in biome $40

Native Biome: Temperate Forest (+10)

Other Compatible Biomes: Alpine (0), Boreal Forest (+2), Grassland (0), Tropical Rainforest (0)

Swims?: No

Total Cost: $3,415 for a 2-animal exhibit, excluding rocks or additional foliage


Compatible Animals (Temperate Forest):

Compatible Animals (Other Biomes):