Stray peacock shows off squatting skills

Arlene Bibby with the camera-shy peacock which had been moving around their neighbourhood over the past five days. Photo / Warren Buckland

For the past five days a group of neighbours in Napier's Alamein Crescent had been bewildered as to how a large and occasionally noisy squatter came to take up residence in the area.

They were also mystified where he was able to hide out all day and night and began to wonder if he would ever come down from the roofs he had begun visiting - noisily.

The new arrival was a peacock.

And while they don't know where he came from they now know where he ended up.

"He's in our chicken coop," Arlene Bibby said.

"My husband came home for lunch [yesterday] and spotted it and was able to corner it - he called me after he'd gone back to work and said 'the peacock's in the chicken coop."

Their neighbour Barry Kerr first spotted the big bird last Sunday.

"And he started popping up around here since."

Mrs Bibby said on Tuesday just before 6.30am the family were jolted awake by what sounded like someone running across their roof.

Having spotted the peacock the previous day on a neighbouring rooftop they realised what it was.

"It can obviously fly because it goes from roof to roof - and it took off if it saw anyone."

Her husband Paul had been able to click off a quick snap of the bird before it took off on one occasion and Mr Kerr said he had seen the big bird "fluttering" from roof to roof.

"But I never saw him come down to the ground."

He said the proximity of house roofs as well as shed and garages in the area meant the peacock had been able to move about across several sections.

Mrs Bibby said one colourful spin-off had been that their two little boys had been able to go to school with a photo of the peacock on the roof and give a slightly out-of-the-ordinary morning talk.

Department of Conservation services manager Dave Carlton said while it was unusual it was not entirely unexpected as there were wild populations of peacocks in the region.

"It could have been brought to town by someone or it could have wandered in from the hills."

Even suburban areas occasionally experienced arrivals from birds he described as "transitory", and said wild peacocks did have the ability to fly short distances.

The DoC stance was there was no need for their involvement as the peacock was not injured and not in any immediate danger.

Mrs Bibby said she had called her local vet but it was out of their jurisdiction so she called the Napier SPCA.

Two staff members called to pick the peacock up just after 2.30pm yesterday.

SPCA manager Bruce Wills said it was one of the more extraordinary animal recoveries they had been called to and said checks would now be made through their database for people who "fostered" birds.

"We will do some asking around to find a home for it," he said.