India Blue Peafowl

The national bird of India, they find there home in thick forests along hillside streams. Birds spend their days in small groups consisting of a male and 3-4 females. They feed on everthing from fruit to gains to small snakes. At night they gather in large numbers, as many as 100, to roost in the highest trees that are well out in the open so that they can see in all directions. Breeding begins in June, females nest on the ground, laying 8-10 eggs.

Pavo cristatus

Tying with India Blue Peafowl Feathers

When someone says peacock - this is the one that comes to mind. With its iridescent blue breast, golden green back and bronzy train - it sure is a visually impressive bird. The fly tier and crafter for that matter have used peacock in so many ways.

For the salmon fly tier the tan shoulders with their dark speckling is called for in many married and mixed wing flies. The blue breast feathers are used for hackles, veilings and even wrapped for bodies on salmon flies such as the Erin Go Bragh. Creative tiers know this bird well using all manner of body feathers for all manner of uses as sides, cheeks, wings and tails.

Let us not forget the herl from the train feathers used for butts on salmon, steelhead and streamer flies. Bunches of herl have been used for wings on salmon flies like the Beauly Snow Fly, underwings on streamers and backs on saltwater flies. The sword or side train feathers with their bright green iridescent color are use in salmon flies such as the Jock Scott.

The eyes feathers of the train have been used on large Mary Orvis Marbury bass flies. Let’s not forget the crest feathers that have been used artistically for many patterns over the years as tails and veilings. Crafters and jewelry makers have made use of many parts of this bird for earrings, brooches, decorative adornments and even cat toys. A very useful bird no doubt!

feathers
feather assortments
full skins
fly patterns
links to other peafowl

Crests, Neck, & Scaled Feathers

Just about every feather on a peacock has a use in fly tying. So here are the feathers from the front end of the bird. The neck hackle is a cobalt blue and comes in a wide ranges of sizes, as do the scaled feathers.

Males

crests	neck hackle	scaled
6 feathers - $15	12 feathers - $10	6 feathers - $15

Females

crests	neck hackle	scaled
$50	$50	$50

Wing Quills

The shoulder feathers and a few secondary wing quills on a peacock have a beautiful tan mottled pattern. These feathers have always been popular with tyers, the longer the barb length the better. Check out the picture on the right to see a size comparison.

Males

small	medium	large	transition	black	primary
$10	$15	$20	$15	$20	$10

Females

small	medium	large	primary
$5	$7.50	$10	$10

Train and Tail Feathers

The eyed, sword, and spade feathers are train, or display feathers and the a peacock's true tail feathers are grey. Also listed here are the corresponding hen feathers. Peacocks don't get their full train until they are three, however, the first and second year plumes have some interesting spey applications.

Males

eyed	swords	spade	tails
$5	$5	$5	$5

Females & Immature Males

train	tails	1st yr male	2nd yr male
$5	$5	$5	$5

Peac-a-Bou Puffs

Everyone is familiar with marabou and chickabou, well here is something new, peac-a-bou! The only difference is that these feathers come from a Peacock. Well, that and the size, check out the picture on the right!


5 Large - $15 5 Medium - $10 5 Small - $5


black tipped	grey	white	mottled

Peacock Herl

And last but not least, peacock herl. It is that natural material with a majical quality that fish find irresistable. Strung herl comes in two lengths, however, the best herl come straight from the bird. These sticks I have collected from our older males, the herl is thick, fresh, and not brittle.


14" Bundle- $ 8" Bundle - $ 10 Sticks - $


8" herl	14" herl	herl - sticks

Coming soon.... if there's something you've been looking for and need right away, please give me a call.

Thanks!

I have a couple of skins in the freezer that I will try and get to shortly, if this is something you're interested in, please contact me.

thanks,

David

Wild type - Red Golden

With all the inbreeding and crossing, finding a good pure golden is getting hard. Notice the pure red. Brilliant and no yellow bar like the male on the sidebar. Wings are solid blue, crest is long and the throat is light in color. This is a nice example of a pure bird.

Males

$50	$50	$50

Females

$50	$50	$50

I'm looking for pictures of flies and the recipies you used to tie them. Please give me a call or email me for more information.

Thanks!

Peafowl In their pure form there are only 3 species of peafowl; the blue, the green, and the congo. In captivity however, breeding enthusiasts have created close to 225 color mutations that range from white to a very dark colored bird called "midnight". Coming up with names for new colors is as difficult as coming up for names for new paint colors. Breeds:
	India Blue	Java Green	Designer Peafowl

Quick links to other exotics:
	pheasants partridge grouse softbills	quail junglefowl peafowl hookbills	guineafowl turkey bustards ratites	cranes waterfowl pigeons and doves