"Federico Bruni was sitting on a bench, eating a piadina romagnola (flatbread sandwich) and minding his own business, when a peacock strutted up in the hope of a few crumbs. High-pitched squeals emanated from the direction of a disused military barracks across the road. That would be the call to love, Bruni said. The male peacocks are courting the female ones we're in peak mating season."
"The birds have made their home in the gardens of abandoned properties and perch on rooftops and fences, or peak out from trees. They carefully navigate the traffic, sometimes tapping their beaks on the windows of parked cars after catching their reflection. The Guardian saw one shamelessly leaping over the gate of a block of flats and doing a poo on the entrance steps."
"They don't bother Bruni, who frequently comes to his holiday home in Punta Marina. It's no different to seeing a cat, really, they're part of the fabric of the town, he said. Others are less welcoming. There are too many of them, said Francesco, who preferred not to give his surname."
"They jump over the wall and on to my balcony, leaving excrement. But the main issue is the mating the screams are keeping people awake. His relative Marco said: Each time I come to Francesco's home, I tread on peacock poo outside. It's unhygienic; the peacocks need to be contained."
Male peacocks in Punta Marina, Emilia-Romagna, court females during peak mating season, producing high-pitched squeals that carry across the town. The birds live in gardens of abandoned properties, perch on rooftops and fences, and move through streets while interacting with cars and windows. Some residents treat the peacocks as part of the town’s fabric and ignore them, while others report excrement on balconies and entrance steps. Complaints focus on mating calls that keep people awake and on hygiene concerns, with calls for the birds to be contained. The peacocks’ presence is widespread enough to resemble a wildlife park.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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