13 Things You Didn't Know About Peacocks

I have been researching peacocks for about 5 years, not just for the book that I have written -- The Peacocks Tale -- but also because I was intrigued by the phenomenon of the Peacock's Tail in Alchemy. So here are a 'bakers dozen' of  little known facts about Peacocks that I bet you didn't know!
1.   The Peacock is the male peafowl, the female is less adorned and is called a peahen.
2.   The Peacock is one of the largest flying birds in the world; they roost at night in trees to be protected from predators. Peahens nest on the ground in dense foliage.
3.   The Peacock's tail makes up to 60% of its body length.
4.   Groups of peafowl are called a party; a family of peafowls is called a bevy.
5.   Generally there are two species of peafowl: the blue of India and the green of Southeast Asia.
6.   A third species, which is found in the Congo,  has a red neck with shorter brilliant blue and black tail feathers.
7.   The train of feathers of the Peacock are actually the elongated feathers of the upper tail. Under that are shorter feathers, which can be lifted to 'show' the colors of the upper feathers to attract females. (When a male displays his tail to another male - he is not gay! This display is to warn off the aggressor male from his harem of females!) 
8.   Peahens are thought to choose their partners by the size, color and 'quality' of the Peacock's tail.
9.   The white Peacock is often mistaken as an albino, but it is actually a variation of the blue peacock of India.
10.  The Peacock is the national bird of India.
11.  Peacocks are associated with royalty because their screeching cries - especially at night - warned of the approach of enemies.
12.  Once a year Peacocks molt their feathers, but they soon grow back.
13. The alchemists of old thought the appearance of a show of iridescent colors on liquid metal indicated the end of the first of three alchemical stages of changing lead into gold. This show of colors was called 'Cauda Pavoris' -- the Peacock's Tail  -- and was considered the turning point of the alchemical transmutation.