Peacock problem on Long Island

BAYSHORE (WABC) -- How a bird, native to what used to be Burma, wound up in Bayshore is a mystery, but a peacock has been strutting it's stuff, loose in a Long Island neighborhood since September.

The family this eligible bachelor adopted is desperate to find their feathered friend a mate and a safe haven before he gets hurt, but setting up the floundering peafowl proved harder than anyone thought.

It likes fruit. It's a bit shy, but this peacock does love to show-off.

The proud peacock's display of plumage is designed to attract a mate, but he's not going to find one in the Nicolosi's yard.

"He needs to be around other peacocks. He's probably lonely. We're feeding him, so he's staying, but I'm afraid he might come in the wrong hands," Lenny Nicolosi said.

"We want him to be in a place that would want him, such as a farm upstate or Long Island somewhere or a zoo perhaps would be ideal," Kristine Nicolosi said.

They don't know how the wayward bird wound up here. He showed up last fall with some fowl. The chickens have since flown the coop, but the peacock stayed put.

So far the peacock has managed to dodge traffic and survive the snowstorm that buried Suffolk. He roosts up in a nearby tree, but prefers the ground.

So far their efforts to find this member of the pheasant family a permanent home have failed. There's no room at a few zoos and most sanctuaries are closed until spring.

"I have over a dozen phone number here. People that I've spoken to and I'm ready to throw them away, so I called 7 On Your Side hoping that maybe someone can help us take him," Kristine said.

So we started a search to find the friendly flying fella a safe place to live. We succeeded in tracking down a wildlife expert to trap the bird, a rehab center to treat it and an estate to take the bird, but there's peacock politics involved so we are still hunting for the best candidates to give him home.

If you think you can help, please click here to email us at 7 On Your Side.

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