However, in recent decades the bird’s numbers in the country have fallen. In 2009 the green peafowl was listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.

Green peafowl is a peafowl species native to China. It was listed as threatened in 1988, as vulnerable in 1994, and upgraded to endangered in 2009 on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

A blue peafowl in Tamil Nadu. Credit: K Hari Krishnan, CC-BY-SA-4.0. Comparative analyses of blue and green peafowls’ genomes reveal a striking contrast in the number of genes.

Human intervention is pushing the green peafowl towards extinction -- but it could also be key to the survival of these beautiful birds. Bangkok Post - The world’s window on Thailand.

Green peafowl were once found in abundance across Southeast Asia, India and China, but extensive hunting and encroachment of human habitation have taken their toll.