Rethinking the functions of peacock’s display and lek organisation in native populations of Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus

Abstract

Males of Indian Peafowl are known for their extravagant courtship display used to attract mates. The displays are seen in absence of potential mates as well. This study investigates various contexts in which display behaviours are shown by Indian peafowl. Upto 70% of displays were observed in absence of potential mates. High frequency of displays in presence of other males and longer display bouts during the month of May when mating rarely happens, indicated that display behaviours might have a role to play in male-male competition or territory defence in addition to the female mate choice. The males establish and maintain their courtship display territories throughout the breeding season. Earlier studies assume that the choice of location does not depend on any resources as the species has a lek mating system. How these display sites are chosen is still a question. In this study, we investigated factors that might be important for the selection of display sites in a free-ranging Indian Peafowl population. It was observed that display sites were more concentrated within a radius of 300 meters of the food provisioning site and/ or a water resource and the number decreased considerably beyond the 300 m radius of food and water resources. Overall, the selection of display sites is non-random and highlights the importance of resources in the choice of display territories. The spatial organisation of leks in our study indicate that the mating system in Indian peafowl may be resource-based lek.