Des Plaines woman's backyard draws strange, colorful visitor
For nearly two weeks, Debbie Lambdin Skoczynski has had a surprising backyard visitor at her Des Plaines home - a blue peacock strutting his stunningly colorful plumage.
Sightings of foxes, coyotes, skunks and possums are more the norm, but "this is the very first exotic (animal) that we've seen," said Skoczynski, who has lived near Oakton Street and River Road for 26 years.
"I just don't understand where he came from," she said.
Peacocks typically are blue and green and known for their iridescent tails. These colorful pheasants - indigenous to India, Sri Lanka, Java, Myanmar and African rainforests - occasionally have been spotted in the suburbs, likely because they were considered exotic pets, aside from those showcased at zoos and some farms.
"That is a rarity," said Natalia Derevyanny, spokeswoman for Cook County Animal Control. She added, the agency has never received calls about free-roaming peacocks and urges residents who spot one in their neighborhood to call local police or animal control.
Des Plaines Police have received about a dozen calls about a peacock in the area in three weeks.
"They fly faster than a human being can (move) so it makes them hard to catch," Cmdr. Sean Flanagan said. "They are not really dangerous. They're skittish."
His advice to residents if they ever see one is to take a picture and post it on Facebook.
"Peacock" commonly refers to birds of both sexes, though technically, males are peacocks and females are peahens. Together, they are called peafowl.
Getting peafowl isn't difficult as several poultry breeders sell them as farm animals or to hobbyists, said Angie Dosch, animal curator at Cosley Zoo (formerly Cosley Farm) in Wheaton, which for years housed several white peacocks and peahens.
Similar to other unconventional pets, owners can underestimate how difficult they are to care for, Dosch said.
"Peacocks are very loud," she said. "If you have it, definitely your neighbors would know. It would be particularly challenging if you don't have a lot of space. (Owners) may have been forced to relinquish it or it could have escaped. They wouldn't be able to survive out on their own in this environment."
A male peafowl is one of the largest flying birds. The train comprises more than 60 percent of the bird's body length and its weight makes it hard for it to fly long distances.
Peacocks unfold their trains with distinctive tail feathers boasting "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other vibrant hues to attract peahens. It is used in mating rituals and courtship displays and can be arched into a fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side.
Skoczynski said she's seen her guest flare his fan a little. He's typically out in the morning and early evening and is "very vocal."
"Almost every night he's been squawking," she said. "My dogs - a hound and a pit bull - are not thrilled about the peacock." She keeps them indoors so as not to scare the intruder.
After consulting with a wildlife rehabilitation center in Barrington and animal control who advised her "there's really nothing you can do," Skoczynski decided to enjoy her flamboyant visitor for as long as he's around.
She's posted pictures on social media of the bird perched on her rooftop, atop a backyard archway and fence, roosting in a tree or just walking along the perimeter. Some friends thought she was faking the sightings with a cardboard cutout, Skoczynski laughed.
"The closest that I've gotten was maybe 30-40 feet," she said. "I did hear that if they are hungry, they can become aggressive."
But, Skoczynski said, she was advised not to put out food for the omnivore, which feeds on insects, plants and small ground creatures.
"It's been really exciting and cool to see a peacock in a suburban, busy neighborhood, and especially in my own yard ... mixed with it being strangely odd," she said.