It isn’t Sri Lanka or India, and it’s not a zoo—and yet, it’s swarming with peacocks. It’s a neighborhood in Tennessee, and neighbors say they don’t mind the posse of preening birds. But why exactly are they there?
Local Nashville news station News Channel 5 explains that the peafowl (technically, peacocks refer only to the males) are pets, but they often roam freely in the ‘hood. News Channel 5 interviewed a resident of the neighborhood, which backs up to Priest Lake.
Keyosha Davis told the news station that it’s normal to see the brilliant birds hanging around.
“We’ve had them around for years,” Davis said. “They’re like part of the family, too.”
Besides being interesting and beautiful, the peacocks apparently do some neighborhood pest control by eating ticks.
Living with peacocks has its quirks, though. Davis said something hilarious happens after she’s gotten a car wash.
“They’re very vain. I will say that,” Davis told News Channel 5. “So if your car has just gotten washed and your car is shiny . . . they will walk up to the car and look at themselves constantly.”
News Channel 5 reports it’s legal to own the birds in the state of Tennessee.
Watch the segment here:
Would you put up with preening pet peafowl in exchange for neighborhood pest control?