When a male courts a female, he spreads out his tail feathers to display his colors and eyespots fully for her to see. Completely fanned out, the tail spreads behind the peacock in a full semicircle, though some peacocks have tails that are bigger than others.

What is it called when a peacock spreads its feathers?

They not only fan out those spectacular tail feathers — called a train — to tempt pea hens, but they also shake them in a behavior called train rattling. Dr. ... She and other researchers had found that the most successful males had the most iridescent blue-green color in the tail eye-spots.

Do peacocks spread their feathers when they feel threatened?

The giant tail feathers of male peacocks, called coverts, spread out in a distinctive train of over 60 percent of the peacock's body length. ... When threatened, they also fan their tails out in order to look larger and intimidating.