Ian is quite right, it is the Kangaroo Island population that is referred to in
Christidis and Boles. There was a lot of discussion on the Birding-aus site
some time ago concerning what was tick-able and what was not. From memory, Rottnest
birds were considered tick-able – that’s where I ticked them.
I have seen two of the three species of
Peafowl in their natural habitat, in Sri Lanka
and Thailand.
Interestingly when I was out birding with two ladies in Las Vegas recently, we went to a park that adjoined
some sort of horse stable. The Peafowl were all around the stables and in the
park and had been breeding there for more than 60 years yet no-one had really
considered adding them to the state list. They had chicks when I was there;
there were also a few pure white ones in the group but I don’t think they
were true albinos.
Mark
From: Ian Fraser [
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010
12:24 PM
Cc: Canberra Birds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Re:
Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl update [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
My understanding is that the Kangaroo Island
population is a 'genuine feral' one. (I'm biased by having seen them of
course!). They were in paddocks well away from homes, and were very wary indeed
when approached, even in a vehicle, rushing to shelter in mallee patches.
Ian Fraser
Andrew, David wrote:
Hi there
I don't normally enter the introduced birds debate,
but I believe the Rottnest peacocks (as opposed to peahens) were recently
sterilised or culled; as I understand it their status as a wild/feral
population was always dubious as they are basically tame birds (cafe
scavengers) and their reproductive output hasn't been quantified.
Having recently moved to Canberra I was intrigued by the Narrabundah
peafowl and from what I've learned they would qualify as a genuine feral
population!
regards
David Andrew
Migratory Birds Taskforce
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and
the Arts (DEWHA)
GPO Box
787
Canberra ACT 2601
AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 (0)2 6274 1879
From: Mark Clayton
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010
12:01 PM
To: 'Barbara Preston'; 'Philip
Veerman'; 'Peter Ormay'
Cc: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Re:
Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl update
Barbara,
Peafowl are feral on Rottnest Island off Perth and these are, as far as I am aware, the
only “genuine” feral population in Australia
and are considered “tick-able” for the Australian list if you are
using Christidis and Boles as your Australian authority. I have no doubts that
there are other feral populations in Australia
and indeed feel that the Narrabundah birds, because they are a self sustaining
population, could and probably should qualify as a tick-able feral population.
When I was working at CSIRO years ago a colleague told me of a female Peafowl
he saw in Monga (then) State Forest with
9 chicks. To the best of his knowledge there was no housing within miles.
Mark
From:
Barbara Preston
Sent: Monday, 8 February 2010
10:47 AM
To: Philip Veerman; 'Peter Ormay'
Cc: 'Canberra
Birds'
Subject: [canberrabirds] Re:
Spam:******, [canberrabirds] Peafowl update
Have peafowls ever been known to become feral?
Lots of country folk have had them over the last
century or so. I've seen them in old photos, and my parents had them
(almost always a breeding pair) for 30+ years in their large garden
30k from the nearest town, but I did not ever know of the peafowls leaving the
garden (and small ajoining horse/roo paddock).
(After my mother died a few years ago my father got
sick of their honking/hooting/squwarking and cleaning up their
droppings from the paving beside the house and shot them (an adult pair
and a couple of young males at the time, I think))
_______________________
Barbara Preston Research
ABN 18 142 854 599
21 Boobialla Street
O'Connor ACT 2602
Phone: 61 2 6247 8919
Fax: 61 2 6247 8779
Mobile: 0439 47 8919
email:
_______________________
Sent: Monday, February
08, 2010 1:02 AM
Subject: Spam:******,
[canberrabirds] Peafowl update
You may be right but who knows. Surely
there are many foxes and feral cats and raptors and dogs, not to mention still
some tigers which will certainly eat them, where peafowl are native. They are
likely to be adapted to high predation rates, so what we have here will
probably be little problem for them.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Peter Ormay
Sent: Sunday, 7 February 2010
12:55 PM
To: John Layton; 'Vikki'; 'Geoffrey Dabb';
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds]
Peafowl update
Peafowl is one species I would not be concerned about
becoming a nuisance feral in Australia.
I don't think they would stand a snowflakes chance in hell surviving outside
the built-up area with so many foxes and feral cats about. I'm surprised
that chicks have survived in suburbia there. I suspect they go from dog free
yard to dog free yard over fences and some people feed them. Do any COG
members live in the area and know if they are fed?
