RSPCA rescue peacock after fall in Shotton Colliery

The handsome bird was reported to the animal charity after he was witnessed falling off a two-storey-high roof after being spooked.

He fell into a garden on an empty property in Elizabeth Place, Shotton Colliery, and was thought to be dead.

However, when RSPCA Inspector Christine Nisbet and Animal Rescue Officer Krissy Raine arrived, he was mobile and moving around the garden.

Christine said: “Given he had fallen from two storeys, he was still very mobile and he gave us a good runaround - but we managed to catch him eventually.

“We took him to a vet and he had a scrape on his foot, but no further injuries - he was very lucky and it was important to get him checked over. We don’t know where he came from but no one has yet come forward to claim him as a pet. He’s now gone to a specialist animal rescue centre to be looked after.

“It was an interesting job - peacocks are, after all, not your everyday bird!”

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Facts about peacocks

• Peacocks aren’t native to the UK - they were thought to have been introduced in the 14th century, when aristocrat Sir John de Foxley brought a pair back from a trip to the Holy Land.
• They are native to India.
• Today, they are usually kept as free-roaming ornamental birds and if they’re seen out and about, they may have escaped or strayed from a private collection.
• It is advised that members of the public shouldn’t handle peacocks as they have sharp claws.
• Peacock calls are described as shrill raucous shrieks. In the breeding season (April to September), peacocks will call loudly to advertise their presence to peahens. They tend to make most noise early in the morning at dawn, and late in the evening during the breeding season.