The Green Peafowl, an endangered bird | Bangkok Post: learning

About nature

The beautiful photos of this majestic bird may lure you to forest or nearest zoo in search of its rare beauty.

What follows is only a small extract from a much larger article which can be read here.

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ON THE WILD SIDE: Thailand's largest and most spectacular bird by L. Bruce Kekule

...As light begins to fill the river valley, I move in closer to the peafowl on a large sandbank. A male takes off and lands close to the flock, immediately opening up its tail in a shimmering fan display. The females and younger birds are busy pecking the ground.

During the breeding season, the male peafowl's iridescent tail, called a train, is long and graceful. He struts along the riverbank showing off to the females hoping to impress the flock. Several other males are nearby also flaunting their tail spreads to incite the other gender.

The blue and yellow facial skin, plus the emerald green and metallic blue of its feathers, with cinnamon coloured wing primaries contrasting with brownish-black secondaries, is a sight to see, especially during the soft early morning light and again in the evening glow at sunset. They are the most spectacular of all Thai birds thriving fairly well in this wildlife sanctuary, a World Heritage Site. The species can also be found in a few other protected areas around Thailand...

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(Source: Bangkok Post, Outlook Section, ON THE WILD SIDE: Thailand's largest and most spectacular bird, 27/12/2010, L. Bruce Kekule, link)


peafowl - better known as the "peacock" whereas the female is called a "peahen" (See Wikipedia)
green peafowl - the Southeast peacock found from Burma and Thailand all the way to Java, the "Indian Peacock" is the Indian peacock (See Wikipedia)

endangered species - a group of animals that is decreasing in number because people are killing it or they are dieing from some other cause such as disease or shrinking habitat to live in (See Wikipedia)

bank - the side of a river
sandbank - a side of a river covered with sand
flock - a group of birds, sheep or goats ฝูงนก
immediately - happening right after something else with no delay; right away ทันที
shimmer - flash, shine, glimmer, glisten ส่องแวววาว, แสงแวววาว, แสงวูบวาบ
shimmering fan display - when the bird spreads out its feather in back and they shine in the sun
peck - when a bird quickly moves its mouth towards food or other object, poke at, pick at  จิก

breeding - the keeping of animals or plants in order to produce young animals from them การผสมพันธุ์สัตว์เพื่อขยายพันธุ์
breeding season - the time of years when animals have babies
iridescent - มีสีสันเหมือนสีรุ้ง, มีสีเหลือบ, มีสีเหมือนรุ้ง,อย่างหอยมุก
graceful - smooth and beautiful movement that shows good manners and respect towards others นุ่มนวล, See also: นิ่มนวล, อ่อนช้อย, สง่างาม, Syn. elaborate, exquisite, fine, Ant. ungraceful
strut - to walk around in a proud and confident way, swagger, walk like a peacock เดินวางท่า, เดินวางมาด, เดินทำท่าทำทาง
riverbank - Same as "bank" above
show off - to act in a way to make people look at you and admire you

impress - to cause someone to admire or respect you because of something that you have done or said ประทับใจ
flaunt - try very hard to make people see and notice something that you have (beauty and good looks, money, possessions, car, etc)
incite - to cause people (or here animals) to be angry ยั่วยุ ยุยงให้เกิดความรุนแรง
gender - the fact of being either male or female เพศ

primaries - "the largest feathers on the edge of a bird's wing" (See diagram)
secondaries - "large feathers between the primaries and the tertials on a bird's wing" on the wing and closer to the body than the primaries (See diagram)
X contrasting with Y - X is different from Y in a way that is easy to see
a sight to see - something interesting to look at
soft - weak อ่อน
glow - to produce a continuous light and sometimes heat แสงแวววาว
spectacular - extremely impressive ที่ตระการตา very exciting to look at น่าตื่นเต้น
thriving - very successful (for humans getting rich, for animals not dieing young and having more babies) ประสบความสำเร็จอย่างสูง
wildlife - animals living in the jungle
sanctuary - a place where birds or animals can live and be protected, especially from hunters or dangerous conditions

World Heritage Site - "a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance" (See Wikipedia)
UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, "a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights along with fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter" (See Wikipedia)

species - a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other พันธ์,จำพวก
feature - to include someone or something as an important part ทำให้เด่น
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals

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