The Asiatic Peafowls or Peacocks (Pavo muticus and Pavo cristatus) are among the most famous birds in the world. Male Asian peafowl possess a beautiful long iridescent train of feathers. Much rarer and much less known is the Congo Peafowl Afropavo Congensis which inhabits the deep forests of the Congo river basin.
In 1913 Dr. James P. Chapin of the New York Zoological Society returned from an unsuccessful African expedition in search of the Okapi. On his travels Chapin picked up native headdresses containing long red-brown feathers with black stripes. The bird from which these feathers came was known as mbulu to the Congo natives, but it was unknown to Chapin or Western science. Chapin travelled to the Congo frequently over the next twenty years but was unable to locate any more specimens of the mbulu. In 1934 Chapin saw two stuffed birds with similar feathers in the Tervueren Museum. The museum had labelled these birds "Indian peacocks." As Chapin discovered, they were actually specimens of the elusive mbulu. Finally in 1935 Chapin was able to locate and bring back seven specimens of the mbulu. The mbulu turned out to be a true African pheasant, the only one known on that continent, and a distant relative of the Asiatic peafowls.
The Congo peafowl looks very different from its Asiatic cousins. Males are dark blue with tinges of metallic green and purple. The tail train is much shorter than that of the Asian species. The Congo peafowl's upright crest is white with dark feathers in back. The throat is colored reddish-brown. Females sport a bright chestnut breast, underparts and forehead with a metallic green back.
Little is known of the life of the Congo Peafowl in the wild. They appear to live in small groups consisting of one male and several females. The Congo peafowl is endangered because of habitat destruction.
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This stamp is part of a set of six bird stamps. |
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This stamp is part of a set of bird stamps. |
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This stamp is part of a set of bird stamps. The design is the same as #115, but this stamp is larger. |
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This stamp is part of a set of bird stamps. The design is the same as #s 115 and 121, but the border color is different. |
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This stamp is part of a set of bird stamps. |
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This stamp is part of a set of fourteen bird stamps. |
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This stamp appears on a miniature sheet of twelve stamps depicting birds of Africa. |
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This stamp is part of a sheet of twelve stamps depicting endangered species. Another stamp on this sheet depicts the coelacanth. |
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This stamp is part of a set of six showing peacocks and pheasants. |
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This stamp is part of a set depicting peacocks. |
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Last modified by pib on July 6, 2003.
