Peacocks orient their courtship displays towards the sun

We studied two courtship displays of male peafowl (Pavo cristatus), focusing particularly on male orientation relative to the position of the sun. During the wing-shaking display, females were generally behind the displaying male, and male orientation with respect to the position of the sun was not significantly different from random. However, during the pre-copulatory train-rattling display, males were on average directed at about 45A degrees to the right of the sun azimuth with the female positioned directly in front, suggesting that this behaviour is involved in the communication of a visual signal. A model presentation experiment confirmed that courting peacocks were more likely to perform the train-rattling display when the female was on the sunny side of their erect train, but more likely to perform wing-shaking behaviour when the female was on the shaded side of the male. This study underscores the importance of visual signalling in peafowl courtship, and we suggest that an angle of about 45A degrees relative to the sun may allow males to enhance the appearance of their iridescent eyespot feathers.