Please don't feed the peafowl

Today we spent most of the day at our bonsai friend Steve's parents' house in Arcadia, California. As it turns out, the official bird of Arcadia is the peacock. You will find the peacock on the City seal, City logo and street signs. It's easy to see why, as I spotted several during just a short walk through the neighborhood. The first one was struttin' down the street like he owned the place.

Then there was one in a tree.

And one on a roof.

And one on a fence.

It was then that I noticed the signs. Apparently the peafowl population has grown considerably in the last decade or so and although Arcadia doesn't want to eradicate them, they also don't want to encourage a further increase in the population.

Peafowl found their way to Arcadia when founder Elias J "Lucky" Baldwin imported them from India in the early 20th century. The term "peafowl" refers to the species, with males called peacocks, females are peahens and the offspring under one year are called peachicks.

They come in a variety of colors like green, light brown and purple, but India Blue is the most common in this area and the one with which people are most familiar.

So if you ever find yourself in Arcadia, be a good neighbor and please don't feed the peafowl.

A dopo!