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NitroXAdministrator
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Peacocks
      #5540 - 09/12/03 03:58 PM

When reading one of Corbett's books he mentions going on an elephant drive and the bag was

In reply to:



in our first beat along the edge of the forest we picked up five peafowl, three red jungle fowl, ten black partridge, four grey partridge, two bush quail, and three hare. A good sambhar had been put up .....

collecting thirty more birds and a leopard

Fifty-four birds and four animals had been shot that morning - and many more missed

We had gone along the bank of the stream for about a mile, picking up five more peafowl, four cock florican - hens were barred - three snipe, and a hog deer with very good horns





The link is: "A driven game hunt with a difference"

You will note ge mentions taking 10 'peafowl'. I previously thought "Wow, imagine hunting wild peacocks".

But last night I started watching a set of video tapes I purchased on the animal life of the Indian sub-continent by the BBC, titled "Land of the Tiger". In the first episode it shows several times an amazing scene of a peacock flying with full featered train across an evening sky. Absolutely magical .

Now I am not so sure if I could ever shoot one of these fabulous birds. Pretty academic as probably will never have the chance .



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iqbal
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #5579 - 11/12/03 02:19 AM

Nitrox, peacocks are fairly common in the Thar Desert along the Indian border,i've seen plenty of them in the desert.They do fly but for short distances only and are found sitting on trees or roof tops.This bird is revered by the Indians(hindus)and to shoot one is a sacrilage.It's feathers are used to sweep the floor of the temples and also decoration.On one of my hunts in the Thar i was tempted to shoot one but was stopped by our Rangers guide as it would have created a law and order problem as the population consists of hindus.I was however told that the meat is delicious especially of a young bird.Later on a different occasion i did bag a young bird and really the meat was delicious.
A lot of people around here,ones with big lawns,have them as pets but according to a myth this bird is a harbinger of bad luck and as such is not to be kept as a pet.I may also add that the peacocks favourite food is snakes.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Peacocks [Re: iqbal]
      #5590 - 11/12/03 07:09 PM

Iqbal

Peacock also grace many of Europes palaces, mansions and castles. Since having had a fine example visit my farm a few years ago - it was owned by a local Pastor's wife and travelled several kilometres from the nearest manse - I have thought one or two would be nice around the place. Foxes may be a problem but I have been told a peacock's cry scares them away (?). Their reputation as snake killers would be very very welcome.

My idea is to fox proof my high fenced deer park (which will take some years to do ie money) as I want to let some guinea fowl and pheasant roam wild in there. Peacocks could join them. With the gunieafowl and the pheasant the idea is that when they leave the "park" they have left sanctuary .

I have heard the 'bad luck' story too about peacocks. Indeed a relative who had a small private zoo and a number of peafowl, once gave my parents a large array of peacock feathers. After severak years of bad luck they decided he had put a 'hex' of the feathers and threw them away. Old Wives' Tales, maybe, but the nearest front door of our house would also open itself on still and windless nights . (Now fixed by a sturdy lockable bolt ).



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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #5591 - 11/12/03 07:12 PM

Actually I think I could be tempted to hunt peacock, but only if they were truly wild and game. I imagine they are very alert birds in the wild.

You mentioned the peacocks were held sacred by the local community. You are not wrong. I have been watching additional episodes of this documentary and every bloody beast, bird, bug and fish in the continent is sacred in some form or other. No wonder everything today is banned from shooting!


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John aka NitroX

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"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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shehuntz
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #12099 - 21/03/04 01:53 PM

I was a bit sceptical when i was told i would be hunting a peacock when i visited NZ last yr.
They are very cunning and it took all day to finally bag one even though we must have seen 15 - 20 birds for the day.
They have flesh like chicken and taste similar.
I was also told they eat the bugs and ticks off deer also.
I also had the opportunity to hunt wild turkeys but i found them 'to easy' as they just stand there and that put me off.



Edited by shehuntz (21/03/04 01:54 PM)

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Bakes
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #12379 - 24/03/04 10:10 PM

When I lived in Newcastle the place behind me (on a large block) had peacocks. Bloody noisy things.

Nitro
Gunieafowl are common around here but then we have no foxes.

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Boghossian
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Bakes]
      #12571 - 27/03/04 09:13 AM

Peacock in NZ?????? I hadn't heard that before!
I believe a peacock that was pushed by a line of beaters would be a challenging target, hell if we stopped shooting beautiful animals, the obese populations of Europe/America would be sweating even more than usual....
I believe that guinea fowl would be able to adapt to predators pretty well considering how well they manage in Africa, by roosting on trees at night. Make sure you get wild stock, as the degenerate types sold as pets are not likely to be as inclined to survive!

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shehuntz
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Boghossian]
      #12771 - 29/03/04 04:42 PM

Boghossian, yes NZ - they are everywhere!

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Bakes
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Re: Peacocks [Re: shehuntz]
      #12796 - 30/03/04 12:14 PM

And they just hang around your house like that....jeeze they must be quite tame.

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MacNaughton
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Bakes]
      #26104 - 11/02/05 02:04 PM

We used to live in a village where a local farmer kept Peafowl. Every spring the Peacocks from a neighbouring village would come to visit - and the whole lot of them would make the most appalling racket. Two of them once got involved in a driven Pheasant shoot and were `put up` by the beaters. They flew leisurely towards the guns until `spooked` by the guns firing when they `jinked` almost vertically, dropped and then `jinked` up again - a bit like the biggest, ungainliest and slowest Woodcock that you ever saw ! Nobody actually shot at them but during the debate afterwards as to whether they could be considered `game` a springer spaniel decided that enough was enough and removed a mouthful of feathers from the cockbirds` tail.

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Peacocks [Re: MacNaughton]
      #26127 - 11/02/05 06:56 PM

MacNaughton,

I agree. They are not a bird that can fly far because they are large and heavily built though they are nowhere near as big as some of the Australian and African birds. In India, of course, eating them would be out of the question as they are worshipped by the Hindus and someone shooting a peacock could get lynched by them. That said, the bird is becoming endangered because of pesticides leaching into it's food chain. They do eat insects and also snakes - in many ways, the fury of a peacock killing a cobra or a krait is a far more spectacular sight than that of a mongoose killing one. I have seen both.

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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Oldsarge
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Re: Peacocks [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #26172 - 12/02/05 12:02 PM

To put in my sour two cents worth, I hate peacocks with an undying passion. They're hideously noisy, messy, destructive and stupid. A family down the block owned a couple of young cocks who would periodically escape and come over and feed on the seed pods dropped by my next door neighbor's mock orange. I'd sit there next to the window with my scoped airgun just waiting for one of those b*st*rds to step onto my property but they never did. I guess it just goes to show that enough hostility broadcasts a warning quite some distance. My university had a picnic area up on top of a hill that was infested with peafowl and there are a couple of upscale neighborhoods in SoCal that are likewise. On slow news days, the Times digs up stories about the intracommunity battles over the peafowl. It makes for some entertainment, let me tell all.

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Sarge

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Oldsarge]
      #26175 - 12/02/05 12:40 PM

I love their screeching loud call.

Then again I never had to live with one 24 hours a day.

The feathers are said to bring bad luck. Anyone heard this old wives tale?



--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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MacNaughton
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #26264 - 14/02/05 04:06 AM

If you lived within a half mile or so of their `screetching loud call` I doubt you`ld love hearing it for very long - a roosters early morning call pales into insignificance in comparison. I sypathise with `Oldsarge` - the things do get on your nerves very quickly. I`d like to see a Peacock in a fury - they are such dumb, useless birds that it`s difficult to imagine them getting `worked-up` about anything.
I`ve also heard that the `eyed` feathers are supposed to be unlucky - something to do with the `evil eye` I suspect.
Barossa Valley eh ? Which vineyard ?

--------------------
Nothing compares to a `Best Gun.`

Edited by MacNaughton (14/02/05 04:09 AM)

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Oldsarge]
      #26265 - 14/02/05 04:08 AM

Oldsarge,

If they were both cocks, they were probably calling peahens. The mating call is a loud mix betwen a bellow and a screech which could annoy people. If the man had a few hens the whole flock might have been a lot quieter.

Best wishes,

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #26266 - 14/02/05 04:10 AM

NitroX,

Strangely, in India, their feathers are supposed to bring good luck - perhaps, this is because the Hindus worship them. This might be OT but some cultural differences arose out of Hinduism and Christianity looking at things differently - the Hindu word for their Gods, "Deva" became "Devil" to Christians. SOmething similar might have happened on the peacocks.

Good hunting!

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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MacNaughton
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Re: Peacocks [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #26267 - 14/02/05 04:13 AM

Hi Mehul - you online ? I`d rather listen to hens any day of the week.......I quite fancy the idea of shooting peafowl though - but with something more effective than an air rifle !

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Peacocks [Re: MacNaughton]
      #26268 - 14/02/05 04:16 AM

MacNaughton,

"Fury" is a mild word to describe a peacock killing a cobra or a krait. The sheer size of the bird and the violence with which they kill some of the more dangerous snakes is what probably endeared them to Hindus and made them worship the birds.

A mongoose fighting a cobra is fast and quiet except for a few low hisses by the snake. The sight of a peacock killing a snake is punctuated with the typical peacock call and is spectacular to watch. The encounters have been filmed by several wildlife photographers and one features in one of the more famous Raj novels which was made into a film. I can't remember which one it was just now, but it will come to me some time and I shall post the name here for whoever wants to rent the CD.

Best wishes,



--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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Oldsarge
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Re: Peacocks [Re: MacNaughton]
      #26269 - 14/02/05 04:20 AM

".......I quite fancy the idea of shooting peafowl though - but with something more effective than an air rifle ! "

Oh absolutely! It's just that I live in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles and a 12 ga out the window would have attracted unwelcome attention from the local Sheriff's office. The 5mm airgun, on the other hand would have simply made the rotten thing mysteriously fall over and start kicking until I came out to police it up. "Dear,dear! Whatever could have happened here? Oh well, let the plucking begin," don'tcherknow.

--------------------
Sarge

Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle!

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MacNaughton
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Oldsarge]
      #26275 - 14/02/05 12:13 PM

The best laugh I`ve all day ! 5mm ? A Sheridan/Benjamin I presume ? I understand the need for the surreptitious tactics - it`s just a shame I can`t use an air rifle on the roe deer that eat my wifes daffodils !

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Nothing compares to a `Best Gun.`

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Oldsarge
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Re: Peacocks [Re: MacNaughton]
      #26277 - 14/02/05 12:42 PM

"5mm ? A Sheridan/Benjamin I presume ?"

Uh, no! Surpassing all belief, here in notorious Southern California I live within 15 minutes of both Safari Books and Beemans's airguns. They don't even carry Benjamin. Had the wretches trespassed onto my driveway, I'd have put a quiet, pointed little pill right through whatever passes for the brain on a peacock . . . a bubble, probably, or possibly a cyst.

--------------------
Sarge

Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle!

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Peacocks [Re: mehulkamdar]
      #26278 - 14/02/05 01:16 PM

Well you have sold me. I am going to get one to three, depending on how much they will cost of course. If they kill snakes I want some here. We always have snakes around the house. They will also look nice and fit in with the deer paddocks as well especially when I fox proof them. When fox proofed I want to introduce pheasant, quail and guineafowl to the paddocks.

I understand that foxes have trouble killing them too, due to their calls. Is this so?

(My dog will a another bigger problem however)





--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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mehulkamdar
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Re: Peacocks [Re: NitroX]
      #26281 - 14/02/05 02:26 PM

NitroX,

They are powerful birds and unless there are chicks, jackals or other predators cannot do them much harm. Snakes are toast anyway.

Do let us know what happens when you get the birds and best wishes!

Mehul Kamdar.

--------------------
The Ark was made by amateurs. Experts built the Titanic.

Mehul Kamdar

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MacNaughton
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Re: Peacocks [Re: Oldsarge]
      #26312 - 15/02/05 08:34 AM

( Psst, Oldsarge, if you fancy some Peafowl shooting I know where there`s going to be some ! )

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Oldsarge
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Re: Peacocks [Re: MacNaughton]
      #26318 - 15/02/05 11:55 AM

Damn! And me with all my huntin' money already accounted for until 2007. Temptin', it be, though, temptin'. D'yer suppose I might catch a military hop t' Old Blightye and grass the blighters on the cheap?

--------------------
Sarge

Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle!

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