Our pet is a peacock: The bird who was so taken with a suburban semi that he moved in

By Fay Schlesinger

Top of the pecking order: Although the peacock lives in the garden, it often makes itself at home in Bhajan and Kulwinder Pabla's kitchen


His exotic tail feathers splayed out behind him, Sheru the peacock struts regally about his kingdom.

And even if that kingdom is a semi-detached house on a busy road and his perch a kitchen sink, there is no doubting the pecking order.

The bird turned up at the home of Bhajan and Kulwinder Pabla one day last August and has reigned there ever since.

He lives mainly in the garden but often comes into the kitchen to strut about.

At other times he perches proudly on the roof of the greenhouse, or pecks at the seeds his subjects scatter about for him.

'People may think he is a slightly strange pet, but we love him,' said Mr Pabla at his home in Normanton, Derbyshire.

'He doesn't seem to want to leave. But with the food and attention he gets, would you want to?'

Mr Pabla, 56, added: 'At night he sleeps in my neighbour's tree and during the day he walks around the garden or sleeps in the greenhouse - it's like a five-star hotel to him.

'But he is a very cocky bird and if we leave the back door open he'll poke around the kitchen and climb on the sideboard.

'However, he's well-behaved most of the time. I have two small grandchildren, and he's wonderful with them.'

Last week Sheru - an Indian name meaning tiger - went missing.


Big fans: Sheru shows off his vibrant plumage in the Pablas' back garden


As Mr and Mrs Pabla, 54, and their children Raj, 22, and Sharon, 20, searched for their pet, he ruffled feathers in the suburb when he was spotted strutting across city roads.

Confused residents reported the sightings to the police and RSPCA.

But after a weekend's excursion, a friend found him on a nearby street and he has now settled back into the family home.

Mr Pabla said: 'Some kids chased him away from my garden. He ran off towards the Showcase Cinema and that was the last I saw of him.

'We couldn't find him anywhere. We wondered how difficult it was to lose a peacock.

'He went straight out into the garden to the greenhouse and settled down for a snooze.'

Mr Pabla asked the RSPCA to visit twice to check on Sheru. Officers approved of his unusual accommodation and recommended feeding him bird seed.

But RSPB spokesman Chris Hunt warned he might repeat the disappearing act.

He said: 'It may begin to wander further as it gets older and starts to think about breeding.'


source :dailymail