Occasionally used in former times to a person of either sex acting in an ostentatiously vain way, strutting about in a manner similar to that of the bird itself. ‘Thou wagtail, peacock, puppy’ says Belleur to Rosalure, in Ben Jonson’s...

A peacock has too little in its head, too much in its tail....

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. The African Congo Peafowl is placed in its own genus Afropavo and is not dealt with here. Peafowl are best known for the male's extravagant...