Woodbury Peacock Update: Kevin is Back at Home

Update: 10:30 a.m. Thursday

The peacock that had been missing from its owner since Sunday is back home, according to a neighbor.

Steve Brown was the one who initially reported the peacock missing to Woodbury police. It was hanging around his house Sunday evening and was back the next morning making a lot of noise, he said.

When first told there was a peacock outside the home, “I said come on, there’s no way,” Brown said. “I figured it had to be a turkey or something.”

He tried to shoo it away, “but he just kind of hung around.”

Brown said he called police because he assumed it belonged to someone in the area, and neighbors told him it sometimes wanders, especially during breeding season.

“My kids enjoyed seeing it,” Brown said.

Earlier post

The owner of on Sunday has reported to police that the bird is missing.

Its name is Kevin. The owner lives on Deer Trail near where the bird was last seen.

Patch spoke with residents who live in the southwestern portion of town where the peacock was seen, and David Windorski sent over the above photos. He said it looked fast darting between trees.

The peacock hadn’t been found as of Wednesday evening.

The on Tuesday posted something about the bird on its Facebook page and advised people to leave it alone if they see it.

A police report says a man at the 5700 block of Woodlane Court saw a “large” peacock that was in his yard for about 45 minutes on June 3. It was not injured or acting aggressively.

Peacocks—large, colorful pheasants—have been kept as pets for thousands of years, according to a National Geographic webpage about them.

“They can be testy and do not mix well with other domestic birds,” reads the post.

The term "peacock" is commonly used to refer to birds of both sexes, though technically only males are peacocks, according to National Geographic. Females are peahens, and together they are called peafowl. They are ground-feeders that eat plants, insects and small creatures.

Earlier this week, Patch asked Eric Searles, associate planner with the city, about the legality of owning a peacock as a pet.

In an email, he said in most cases a peacock would not be permitted, as they are not a caged bird and would not likely live in the interior of the home.   

If the homeowner kept the bird inside the household, in a fashion consistent with a parrot or parakeet, it could be permitted, Searles said.

He also provided the related city ordinance:

Domesticated pet means any animal kept for companionship and enjoyment as opposed to livestock. Domesticated pets are those which commonly live in the household and not in a separate accessory building. Domesticated pets are limited to cats; dogs; caged birds; aquarium fish; non-poisonous, non-venomous and non-constricting arthropods, reptiles and amphibians; and small mammals such as rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, fancy mice and fancy rats. The following are not allowed as domestic pets under any circumstances: (1) non-domesticated animals as listed in section 5-47 of the City Code and (2) livestock species as listed in this section.

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