India Gifts Five Peacocks to UN Geneva for Peacock Diplomacy

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Key takeaways

India presented five male peafowls to the United Nations Office at Geneva as part of its soft power initiative known as Peacock Diplomacy.
The peacocks will reside at the 46-hectare Ariana Park, continuing a diplomatic tradition that began in 1981 when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gifted a breeding pair.
The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is protected under Schedule I of India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and holds Least Concern status on the IUCN Red List.
The species is listed under Appendix III of CITES and plays a crucial ecological role in pest control across agricultural landscapes.

India presented five male peafowls to the United Nations Office at Geneva, comprising four blue peafowls and one white-feathered male to mirror the official UN colors of blue and white.
This action represents the second diplomatic gift of this nature, following former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sending a breeding pair from the Delhi Zoo in 1981.
The birds will live in the 46-hectare Ariana Park, a historic location surrounding the UN complex that has maintained peacocks for more than a century.
Swiss art collector Gustave Revilliod originally owned the park estate before gifting it to the city of Geneva in 1890.
Known informally as Peacock Diplomacy similar to China's Panda Diplomacy, this gesture strengthens India's soft power and demonstrates its dedication to international cooperation.
As the National Bird of India, the peacock embodies grace, beauty, and strength while highlighting the country's rich biodiversity at global platforms.
The donation underlines India's active role in protecting the environment and supporting sustainable biodiversity management across borders.

The Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) belongs to the Phasianidae family alongside pheasants, where males are referred to as peacocks and females as peahens.
The species exhibits clear physical differences between sexes, known scientifically as sexual dimorphism.
Male peacocks feature bright blue feathers with long tails containing colorful eye-like spots called ocelli for courtship, whereas females possess dull brown feathers for nesting security.
Native to the Indian subcontinent, these adaptable birds thrive across diverse environments like dry forests, farmland, scrublands, and human settlements.
Peafowls spend most daytime hours walking on the ground to forage and sleep high up in trees during the night.
These birds maintain an omnivorous diet consisting of seeds, fruits, insects, small mammals, and young snakes.
By eating agricultural pests and small reptiles, peafowls act as natural controllers of pest populations in farming areas.
The IUCN Red List categorizes the Indian Peafowl under the status of Least Concern.
India provides the highest level of legal protection to the species under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
International trade of this species is monitored under Appendix III of the CITES agreement.