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Beautiful bird: Ornate feathers give backyard fowl an unmistakable look

By Ruth Nicolaus, for the Midwest Messenger
Aug 26, 2022
Aug 26, 2022

1 of 5

A peacock’s train can be five feet long or more; the fowl roost wherever they want to.

Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

A blue peacock, one of the more common varieties. Notice his tailfeathers are missing; peacocks lose them in the fall and regrow a new train of feathers every spring.

Submitted photos by Joni Schnase Martin

A blue peacock, one of the more common varieties. Notice his tailfeathers are missing; peacocks lose them in the fall and regrow a new train of feathers every spring.

Submitted photos by Joni Schnase Martin

A blue peacock, one of the more common varieties. Notice his tailfeathers are missing; peacocks lose them in the fall and regrow a new train of feathers every spring.

Submitted photos by Joni Schnase Martin

Gail Bleidt’s peacocks usually roost in the tall cottonwoods at her farm near Lewellen, but in bad weather they roost in the barn, with their tails hanging down.

Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

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By Ruth Nicolaus, for the Midwest Messenger

It may be inching closer to pheasant season, but there’s one member of the pheasant family that might surprise you: the peacock.

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1 peacock gail bleidt.jpg — The beauty of the peacock is often what attracts people to the bird. Photo by Gail Bleidt.
Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

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6 peacock gail bleidt.jpg — The peacock struts his stuff, with his train of feathers fully open, in order to attract the attention of the peahen.
Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

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9 peacock gail bleidt.jpg — The resplendence of the peacock feather draws people to the bird.
Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

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5 white peahen gail bleidt.jpg — A white peahen peeks into Gail Bleidt’s window at her home near Lewellen, Neb.
Submitted photo by Gail Bleidt

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