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Padina pavonica, commonly known as the peacock's tail, [2] is a small brown alga found in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It inhabits pools in the littoral zone typically with clayey, silty or sandy sediments.
The symbolism was adopted by early Christianity, thus many early Christian paintings and mosaics show the peacock. [51] The peacock is still used in the Easter season, especially in the east. The "eyes" in the peacock's tail feathers can symbolise the all-seeing Christian God, [52] the Church, [53] or angelic wisdom. [54]
The brilliant iridescent colors of the peacock's tail feathers are created by structural coloration, as first noted by Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke.. Structural coloration in animals, and a few plants, is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light instead of pigments, although some structural coloration occurs in combination ...
Indian peacocks were frequently used in European heraldry with the peacocks most often depicted as facing the viewer and with the tails displayed. In this pose, the peacock is referred to as being "in his pride". Peacock tails, in isolation from the rest of the bird, are rare in British heraldry, but are used frequently in German systems. [100]
A small, freely-moving projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds (and a few non-avian dinosaurs)—a bird's "thumb"—the word is Latin and means 'winglet'; it is the diminutive of ala, meaning 'wing'. Alula typically bear three to five small flight feathers, with the exact number depending on the species.
It is widely believed that the feathers are part of the tail, but they actually extend from the back of the bird. ... Although these back feathers appear cumbersome and awkward, the peacock is ...
Structural coloration means the production of colour by microscopically-structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light, sometimes in combination with pigments: for example, peacock tail feathers are pigmented brown, but their structure makes them appear blue, turquoise and green.
A rear view of an Indian peacock's true tail and elongated uppertail covert feathers. The uppertail and undertail coverts cover the base of the tail feathers above and below. Sometimes these coverts are more specialised. The "tail" of a peacock is made of elongated uppertail coverts.