Indian Peafowl Male. Photograph by Frans Lanting. Notecard Though Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) are commonly known as peacocks, only males should technically get this designation. The females are peahens. By the age of three, males develop this glimmering display used to attract a mate. The peahens, in contrast, are drably colored, an adaptation that protects them while they tend to the nests they lay on the ground.