Have you ever wondered about whether the peacock can fly? You have probably never seen peacocks flying, right? Don’t worry. There are plenty of people in the same boat as you.
They take one look at this beautiful bird and wonder whether it is confined to spending its days on the ground, or whether it is able to soar above the trees.
Well, we have the answers for you on this page!
Can a Peacock Fly?
Yes, the peacock can fly, but you won’t find peacocks flying all that much since they have limited ability to fly. Contrary to popular belief, the peacock is not regarded as a flightless bird.
We want to take a little look at this idea throughout this page.
Peacock will only really use their limited ability to fly to get up into trees, or perhaps down from them.
They may try to jump over obstacles with their flight, but even this is rare. Most of them are just going to attempt to find another way around whatever is standing in their way.
They can also use their ability to fly to escape predators quickly.
How Far Can a Peacock Fly?
Peacocks cannot fly very far. Their larger bodies mean that they are going to be putting a whole lot of effort into a short amount of flight, and then come back down to the ground.
We would be surprised if most peacocks could fly more than 300 feet (100-meters) at a time, with most of them probably capping out far less than this.
As we said, peacocks do not actually need to fly in most situations. Their strong legs are going to get them to where they need just fast enough.
Since peacocks will spend their entire life living in the same area. They have no need to migrate or anything like that either.
About the only time that you will really see a peacock flying is if they are trying to get up into a tree. Peacocks, like most birds, do prefer to roost up in trees of an evening.
It helps them to remain protected from pretty much anything that is happening down there on the ground. It means that they can sleep without the worry of being eaten by a predator.
To be honest, we would probably never really know just how far a peacock can fly, because they will never be in a situation where flying is the preferable option.
For now, just assume that they cant travel a few meters at the most.
What is interesting about peacocks is how they fly. They tend to be more gliders than flappers. If a peacock comes down from a tree after a good night of roosting, it is going to be gliding down towards the floor.
There may be a flap or two to control the speed that they come in for a landing, but it is mostly going to be a smooth movement.
The same will happen if the bird takes off from the ground. They may flap a little bit to achieve lift-off, but they are mostly going to be gliding through the air, often not at a very high height.
They will flap a couple of times to sustain themselves in the air. However it won’t be anywhere near as much as your typical bird would be flying.
How High Can a Peacock Fly?
This is a tough question to answer because peacocks are never really going to be flying at their maximum height.
As we have said several times on this page, peacocks are not flying to get around. Peacocks are flying with a specific goal in mind, and often this is going to be over an incredibly short distance.
Since they are only ever going to be traveling short distances, they have no real need to launch them high up off of the ground.
About the highest that you will ever see a peacock fly would be a few meters off of the ground, and this is to help them get into trees of an evening. You aren’t ever going to be seeing them soar like other birds that can fly.
Most of the time, the bird will launch itself a couple of meters off of the ground, travel a couple more meters, and then just land. That is it.
As we said before, they are going to be mostly gliding as they do. There will be very little flapping of their wings.
Why Can Peacocks Only Fly a Short Distance?
Well, for starters, they really do not have that much of a need to fly long distances. Their bodies haven’t really been built for it.
They are designed to be running around on the ground for most of their life. This means that they have larger bodies that aren’t really suited to being held up in the air for long periods of time.
Because they are better suited for the ground, the peacock has evolved to enhance those traits and keep the flying traits to the absolute minimum.
Now, you would think that the reason why they can’t fly that well is due to the larger feathers that they have trailing behind the body.
You know, the ones that peacock love to show off when they are trying to attract a mate. However, this, rather surprisingly, isn’t the case.
You see, experiments have been carried out. These experiments discovered that the length of the peacock feathers had absolutely no impact on their flight.
Even if you clipped those feathers, the peacock would still be able to fly in exactly the same way. This is rather unique.
Conclusion
Peacocks can fly. They just choose not to do so the majority of the time, because they have absolutely no need to be flying. They are best adapted to being animals to dwell on the ground. That is where their food comes from.
Their powerful legs mean that they are able to do whatever they want without flying too. In general, about the only time that you are ever going to be seeing a peacock fly is if they are reading up to roost of an evening.
Interesting articles you might want to check:
– Do swans fly and migrate?
– Ducks sleeping facts
– Geese sleeping facts
