We usually think of the peacock as one of the most beautiful birds out there because that is what immediately stands out. While we do know what a peacock looks like, not a lot of us actually know what a peacock sounds like because that isn’t something that is often talked about. So, what sound does a peacock actually make?
Peacocks actually make different sounds depending on the situation. Such sounds include honking, screaming, and rattling. Each of those sounds has its specific purposes. And you will actually be surprised to know that peacocks, as beautiful as they may be, can actually be noisy.
So, even though plenty of us are quite unaware of what a peacock sounds like, you should know that these birds actually make several noises. And if you were ever able to take care of several peacocks, you would know that these birds are pretty loud despite the fact that we often look at them as being majestic and graceful creatures.
What is the sound of a peacock?
When we think about different types of birds, we often associate them with the sounds they make such as when a rooster crowing or when common songbirds make that tweeting sound. In fact, birds are usually associated with the tweeting sounds that they make. But different birds actually make different sounds.
So, if we now talk about the peacock, we don’t usually talk about this bird in terms of the sound that it makes because we are often too preoccupied with how it looks so colorful and majestic to the point that this bird is often called one of the most beautiful birds in the world. That said, not a lot of us actually know what sound a peacock does or have ever even heard of a peacock making a sound. Granted that peacocks are not as common as other birds out there, it still is rare for a common person to know what sound this bird makes.
With that, what does a peacock say? Well, peacocks don’t have one distinct thing that they say because they actually make several different sounds that each have their own purpose. In that regard, we will be talking about all of those different sounds.
But before we talk more about all of the different sounds that peacocks make, we have to first establish that these birds make three distinct sounds on a regular basis. The first is a screaming sound while the second is a honking sound. Meanwhile, although not necessarily a sound that they producing using their vocal cords, a peacock can also make train rattling noises that are not as noticeable as some of the other noises that it makes.
Among those three, the honking sound is arguably the most common sound that peacocks make but there are some people who hear the screaming sound more. Regardless of what may be the most common sound that the peacock makes, what we are sure of is that these birds can be quite noisy regardless of what time of the day it might be.
As we said, peacocks can be noisy at any time of the day even at night. There are no exact reasons why some peacocks tend to make a lot of noises at night because you would expect them to behave silently to try to keep themselves hidden from predators. But it has been observed that peacocks don’t really care about that because they would actually make noises even at night. Whatever the case may be, just make sure that there is nothing that can startle your peacock at night if you don’t want to end up waking up in the middle of the night.
What are the meanings behind the sounds of a peacock?
Now that we know what sounds a peacock usually makes, let us now talk more about the meanings behind all of these three different sounds so that you will get a bigger picture of what these sounds are for and why the peacock is making such sounds.
- Screaming
One of the sounds that peacocks often do is a normal call that many people often describe as something similar to a scream. But it’s not the kind of scream that is actually threatening or scary but it is actually a scream-like sound that is funny, to some extent.
This is the kind of sound that peacocks make for any kind of reason as this is one of their usual forms of communication. In fact, this is much more common whenever you see peacocks grouped together as they will make that screaming sound that can be downright loud. This is why we are saying that peacocks in groups are noisy as they can all make this screaming sound that, when combined, is quite the racket.
- Honking
The honking sound that peacocks make is aptly called as such because it really actually sounds like a honk. This is the type of sound that can be more common than the screaming sound that the peacock makes. And if you want to know what it sounds like, just imagine it being a honk-like sound that is similar to a usual sound that a bird makes but may even sound like a baby’s cry. That’s how weird and unique it is.
There are several reasons why peacocks make this honking sound as this tends to be an all-around sound that they use for a wide variety of purposes. First off, they may try to use this sound to woo a peahen while also spreading their tail feathers out to try to convince the peahen to mate with it. Another reason is that it may be a way for them to make their presence known to prospective predators that they want to scare off. And lastly, it could be a way for the peacock to assert its dominance over all of the other nearby peacocks in the area.
However, when the peacock makes a honking sound, the usual reason is to attract a mate, and that is why you will almost always notice that they do this sound when they are facing a peahen. In fact, it becomes quite obvious that the peacock is trying to woo the peahen because of how it is actually directing the sound to the peahen herself.
This also explains why not a lot of people have heard peacocks doing this honking sound or even know what a peacock sounds like because there has to be a peahen or it has to be in a group of peacocks for it to make this sound. Otherwise, it would probably just make a screaming sound when it is alone or if there are no peahens nearby.
- Train rattle
Finally, we have the train rattle sound that peacocks make not with their vocal cords but with their tail feathers. So, even if a peacock isn’t making a sound with its vocal cords, it may still make soft sounds using its tail feathers.
This rattling sound is produced when the peacock vibrates its tail feathers. There are actually two different sounds produced here: the first is the vibration made by the feathers when they shake and the second one is the vibration that the feathers cause in the air. However, the second vibration is a sound that only peahens are able to hear as this rattling noise is also one of the things that peacocks do to try to win over a peahen.
