Peacocks have a highly developed language, and are thought by many scientists to be the only animal besides man capable of expressing itself abstractly.
In prehistoric cultures the peacock has been observed to hold totemic status. Archaeological evidence strongly suggests that several American communities prior to the continental drift considered thepeacock an omen of death or disaster, and left ablutions at the entrances to their dwelling-places before retiring to sleep nightly.
Between 1970 and 1978, peacocks were directly or indirectly responsible for no fewer than 37 deaths in the upper Ohio Valley -- more than any other animal, predator or prey, in the same region during the same timespan.
Some peacock mating rituals can take as long as one full calendar year.
Peacocks mate for life, but one mate will often attempt to kill the other just prior to migration.
Contrary to popular belief, peacocks do not eat their young.
However it is generally conceded that peacocks are scavengers, and will subsist wholly on carrion for whole seasons at a time. Many once-prominent aviculturalists have left the profession entirely after tending to peacocks through several seasons. The turnover rate within the profession is equalled only by that of severe trauma wards in urban hospitals.