Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/28/2009

Question
I have (yet another) question for you: are there any wild peacocks in Pennsylvania?  I live in an older residential neighborhood surrounded by woods and farms (about 35 miles outside of Philly) and have been hearing a very loud call of some sort recently during the day and just around dusk.  I have never heard this before so looked it up and it turns out the call is a PEACOCK. I think I saw a couple of these walk through our backyard about 5 yrs. ago with their young... Thought they were turkeys!  Shows you how little I know about birds. None of them cried out--just quietly sauntered through the yard. They were not very brightly colored like peacocks I have seen at zoos. Maybe some peacocks escaped from the nearby farms?  Kinda cool... Thank you for your time.

Answer
Peacocks never really go wild in North America, but become feral like homeless dogs and cats. I think many neighborhoods around the country have them. We had a flock in my neighborhood for several years. They eventually move off or, more likely, get shot by some kids for kicks. They could have escaped from zoos, or are just released by their owners to feed.