• ¨     India gifted five young peacocks to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UN Geneva), Switzerland, on 7 August 2026.

    ¨ The handover took place during a ribbon-cutting ceremony involving Arindam Bagchi, India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, and Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of UN Geneva.

    ¨     The flock consists of four blue Indian peafowl and one rare white male peacock.

    ¨     The scientific name of the Indian peafowl is Pavo cristatus.

    ¨     The Indian peafowl is the national bird of India.

    ¨     The white peacock is a colour variant of the same species.

    ¨     The peacocks will initially be kept in a temporary aviary in Ariana Park for three months.

    ¨     After three months, they will be allowed to move freely across the 46-hectare UN Geneva grounds.

    ¨     The initiative revives the tradition of keeping peafowl at UN Geneva.

    ¨     The tradition began in 1981, when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent a breeding pair of peafowl from the Delhi Zoo to UN Geneva.

    ¨   The gesture highlights the long-standing connection between India’s national bird and the UN Geneva premises.