January Peacock

grumpy · Post by **grumpy** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:36 pm

Sighted a female peacock today whilst on my postal delivery in Hilcote,Derbys, its been a lovely sunny day and I almost took my coat off! It flew straight past me and over a bungalow. Not much about for it to feed on, only a few winter pansies. Hope it survives !

Dave C (aka Grumpy)

David M · Post by **David M** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:58 pm

How did you know it was a female?

Gibster · Post by **Gibster** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:41 pm

Clearly it failed to intercept a thrown stick or lump of soil...hence female!

(and if that makes no sense whatsoever, check your Thomas & Lewington!!)

Gibster.

Jack Harrison · Post by **Jack Harrison** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:29 am

How did you know it was a female?

Eyesight.

English restaurant customer in Paris finds a dead insect in his soup:
“Il y a le mouche dans mon soup”.
“Monsieur. C’est LA mouche”
“You must have damn good eyesight”

Jack

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:10 pm

grumpy · Post by **grumpy** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:10 pm

Hi David, it was a large individual, larger than I would expect a male to be, there is a marked difference in size between the two that you come to recognise in flight when you get to my grumpy old fart stage of life having spent a long time observing butterflies.

David M · Post by **David M** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:21 pm

grumpy wrote:Hi David, it was a large individual, larger than I would expect a male to be, there is a marked difference in size between the two that you come to recognise in flight when you get to my grumpy old fart stage of life having spent a long time observing butterflies.

I'll take your word for it. Perhaps in time I will also be able to distinguish between male and female Vanessids.

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:41 pm

Anyone want to start with this little lot?
(Second brood hatchlings on September 6th 2009)

Dave

Rogerdodge · Post by **Rogerdodge** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:22 pm

Lovely sight.
What is the collective noun for these then?

I suggest a glare of Peacocks.

Jack Harrison · Post by **Jack Harrison** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:30 pm

A wallpaper of Peacocks.

Jack

David M · Post by **David M** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 6:34 pm

Whatever the collective noun chosen, the sight itself is a truly beautiful one.

Can you imagine if Peacocks were as rare as Black Hairstreaks? People would be rearranging their annual leave to come and spot them.

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:26 pm

You have to be right about that. They are as striking as any butterfly in the world. Here's a close up of one of the same brood shown earlier on the thread.

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:27 pm

It would help if I attached the picture...

Dave

David M · Post by **David M** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:03 pm

Stunning.

I can still remember the first one I ever saw in the hot summer of 1976.

I didn't think it was real. I was blown away.

Jack Harrison · Post by **Jack Harrison** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 9:47 pm

That's a perfect picture Dave (Miller).

I remember my first Peacock. Late summer 1945. Indeed, I remember my first sighting of almost EVERYTHING but in most cases, can't put an accurate date on it. One summer's day early July (almost certainly 1974) I got my first Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries in the New Forest and then later that day, my first live Lulworth Skippers (but I had come a cross a dead individual a few years earlier on a path at Lulworth itself).

Jack

Wildmoreway · Post by **Wildmoreway** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:21 pm

My first sighting of a Peacock butterfly, was back in 1956 when I was 4 years old, I also remember seeing Small Coppers and thinking that they were baby butterflies until my mother explained about the caterpillar being the growing stage of their lives

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:41 pm

The first Peacock I can remember was one we found in the house one winter when I was about 4 or 5. My mother gave it honey/water and it did have a go at sucking some up. I don't know what became of it. I can remember being a bit scared of the black undersides because of an encounter I'd had with a large dark moth one evening.

Thanks for the comments about the photo - I am quite pleased with that one!

Dave

millerd · Post by **millerd** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:01 pm

There - really scary!

Dave

Lee Hurrell · Post by **Lee Hurrell** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:24 pm

Dave - what a photo (the upperside one). Wow.

The colours are just stunning. Simply breath-taking!

With the ones on the wall that are upside down, if you squint a bit, you can really see a small owl, with the abdomen being the beak and the bottom of the wings (the top end in your photo) being the ear tufts. A quick flick of the wings would surely be enough to scare off a foraging winter mouse that comes across a hibernating Peacock only to be faced with its own predator!

Cheers

Lee

Lee Hurrell · Post by **Lee Hurrell** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:27 pm

PS - I would suggest by the shape of the abdomen that one is a female....

Cheers

Lee

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