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Times Life
Times Life
Lifestyle
Aishwarya Kapoor

What the Indian Peacock's Feathers and Display Are Actually Signalling Beyond Simple Mating

India Deccan Rajasthan Tamil Nadu

The Standard Story Has a Problem

The peacock spreads roughly 200 feathers, each tipped with an iridescent eyespot, and the textbook explanation has always been the same: he is performing for a peahen who will judge his plumage and choose accordingly. It is a tidy story. It is also incomplete in ways that took researchers decades to pin down.

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