Great White Peacock of Morningside Heights
I love my NYC neighborhood. Where else in Manhattan do the strange cries of peacocks echo through city streets?
Regal? Yes. Bright? Um...
Three gorgeous, pin-headed, tiara-wearing peacock boys freely strut their stuff through the grounds of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. A recent stroll found the sole white peacock repeatedly displaying his astonishing tail to a green hedge.
The Great White Peacock of Morningside Heights spent a long time staring at, or into, the hedge.
Staring at the wall
I mean, a long time. As in minutes.
Getting a closer look.
But eventually, whether he found inspiration in the hedge or simply got bored, he began to display.
Opening...
Swirling ...
Revolving ...
Let’s do that again.
Opening ...
Raising ...
Spreading ...
Swirling ...
Raising ...
Profile ...
Lowering ...
Furling ...
And we’re back to contemplating the hedge …
Whats in there?
Check back soon for a look at the colored peacock in action…
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Tags: albino peacock, NYC peacocks, peacock spreading tail, peacocks in Manhattan, peacocks of Saint John the Divine, white peacock, white peacock displaying
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Out walking the dog 
October 5, 2012 at 3:37 pm
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August 30, 2011 at 12:01 am
[…] don’t seem to care who, or even what, they shake their booty for. The white peacock regularly displayed his glory to an indifferent […]
April 20, 2011 at 12:36 pm
It’s amazing that these birds can be found in the city.
Too bad we’ve driven away most native species, and have to replace them with other varieties.
April 25, 2011 at 8:08 am
The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine has had resident peacocks for decades. I hear that the current three males were a gift from the Bronx Zoo. The grounds are quite extensive and they wander freely throughout.
April 20, 2011 at 1:34 am
Beautiful, but if you’ve ever had to live with 23 of them (not white) roaming on your property they might not seem so romantic.
April 20, 2011 at 7:42 am
I can imagine. The sound must have been deafening.
April 19, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Great show!
Have you bee watching the nesting pair of red-tailed hawks in the Village via web cam? At http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/hawk-cam-live-from-the-nest/
April 20, 2011 at 7:41 am
Thanks, Georgia. The Hawk Cam is pretty amazing, isn’t it? Thank you for the link.
April 19, 2011 at 11:36 am
Mating, schmating. From the first image it looks to me like he knew he was being photographed. What’s the point in wearing a dress like that if you don’t get to show it OFF every once in a while?
April 19, 2011 at 11:37 am
I like your theory & philosophy, John.
March 20, 2012 at 8:52 pm
I always know where the camera is…
April 19, 2011 at 11:07 am
I wonder if there’s a female in the hedge? It IS that time of year.
April 19, 2011 at 11:12 am
Vicki, I walked around that hedge to see what in the world he was staring at. Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing. St John’s has 3 male peacocks and no females. Maybe he was fantasizing. Or meditating. Or … well, there’s not a whole lot of cranium there…
April 17, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Certainly one of the most ornate birds anywhere! Beautiful, and perhaps a little cocky?
Just read last weeks account of baby seal, and I’m pretty confident this was all within the normal range of behavior.
April 20, 2011 at 7:43 am
Thanks, Bill. Agreed about the seal, now that I’ve researched it. I was so worried at the time.
April 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
That is a very lovely bird. I wouldn’t expect to see something like that in NYC.
Thanks, Greg Ellison
April 15, 2011 at 2:23 pm
The call of these birds must be something. There’s an Indian peafowl in the Prospect Park zoo, and it’s cry haunts that side of the park.
April 15, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Great to see this dance of swirling white feathers; wonder what he’s looking at, perhaps the inside of his pin-headed mind…
April 15, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Did you know that the writer Flannery O’Connor nurtured a whole colony of (bright-colored) peacocks and (less-flamboyant) peahens in her backyard?
Photos are terrific, but what is in that hedge to merit such a display?
April 20, 2011 at 7:45 am
I’ll write about O’Connor’s peafowl colony in a future post. Thanks so much.
April 15, 2011 at 11:18 am
Fantastic!!!!