I have ambivalent feelings about peacock feathers.

Before I tell you why, check out this photograph by Zaida Ben-Yusuf, which she named The Peacock’s Plumage. It was originally published in the June 1898 issue of Photo-Era.

It’s such an interesting choice to dress the model in all white. Any other color would take away from those rich, iridescent dark greens and blues of the feathers. Even in black and white, it’s still a wonderful photograph.

I think peacock feathers are beautiful. I’ve always had some that I use as decor but my admiration is tinged with dismay.

When I lived in North Carolina, several people asked me why I would have them in my house when they were known to bring bad luck. This superstition may be specific to the South. It was enough to make me nervous about the feathers but not nervous enough to get rid of them.

Evidently, peacocks don’t make the best pets. My cousin Shela raised them on her farm. When she bought them, she picked them up in her truck in another state and drove them home. She said being in close quarters with multiple peacocks isn’t as fun as you might imagine. At least, they weren’t particularly fragrant and they have a very distinctive call.  Her assessment of the whole experience was: “No wonder they’re called fowl!”

On the other hand, it’s possible to become attached to a peacock. A few years ago, when people were first allowed to bring a therapy animal on an airplane to keep calm, someone turned up at the San Francisco airport and tried to board a plane with her emotional support peacock. I don’t know what rules existed at the time for therapy animals but the airlines probably have to have policies limiting which animals are allowed on the flight. No bears, livestock, birds of prey, boa constrictors… et cetera!

If you haven’t heard a peacock call, check out this video:

 

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