Strutting tailfeathers
Thailand
Thailand Post released two stamps in 9 August 2008 on the green peafowl. This endangered bird, also known as the green-necked peafowl (Pavo muticus) (from Latin Pavo, peafowl; muticus, Mute, docked or curtailed), is a species of peafowl that is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
"Peafowl" is the general name for the family of birds. A peacock 🦚 is a male peafowl. A peahen is a female peafowl. The young of a peacock and a peahen are called peachicks.
I am a fabulous Indian peacock. I have a blue neck. [Photo: Jason Mrachina/Flickr Creative Commons]
The peacock is a classic example of sexual dimorphism. The males and females have distinct features that make them look entirely different.
Look at me! Look at me! Female and male Indian peafowls look very different.
Unlike Indian peacocks, green peacocks display very few differences between males and females. [Source]
Outside the breeding season (that’s most of the year), males have no visible trains. During this time, both males and females are quite similar in appearance, making it difficult to tell one from the other. Both sexes have tall pointed crests, and are long-legged, heavy-winged and long-tailed in silhouette. The long train formed by elongated upper tail coverts, spread in an enormous fan during display. These molt and drop out in April and May during the hot season.
Look on my green neck, ye Mighty! By: Haplochromis [Source]
Peacocks make sounds at low frequencies (<20Hz) that are inaudible to humans. Their tail feathers are curved into a dish-like concave shape to concentrate sound the way a parabolic microphone would. Researchers believe the peacocks use the infrasound to warn off other males and to court an intrigued female.
Status
We can’t have nice things — the green peafowl is classified as “Endangered” according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, a system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. People poach them for their meat and feathers (especially the male's spectacular train feathers), and collect their eggs and peachicks. These birds are sold illegally for ~USD22 each back in 2008.
When is it hunting and when is it poaching? Poaching is hunting without legal permission from whoever controls the land. To hunt, you need a permit.
National symbol
Although the Burmese or grey peacock-pheasant is the national bird of Myanmar, the green peafowl was an ancient symbol of the monarchs of Burma. It was also shown during British colonial times on the flag of the governor and the naval ensign, as well as on the flag of the State of Burma from 1943–1945 and on the currency of independent Burma as well.
Flag of the State of Burma (1943 - 1945) — a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, created in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of Burma in World War II.
References:
POST e-Mart. https://www.postemart.com/historypage.php?HISTORY_ID=853
Green Peafowl. Thai National Parks. https://www.thainationalparks.com/species/green-peafowl
BirdLife International 2018. Pavo muticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22679440A131749282. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22679440A131749282.en. Downloaded on 20 October 2019.
Bryce, E. (2015). The Peacock's 'Tuneful' Tail Feathers. [online] Audubon. Available at: https://www.audubon.org/news/the-peacocks-tuneful-tail-feathers [Accessed 1 Nov. 2019].
Freeman, A. R., & Hare, J. F. (2015). Infrasound in mating displays: a peacock's tale. Animal Behaviour, 102, 241-250. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.029