Archive · 9 Aug 2026
India Gifts Five Young Peacocks to UN Geneva, Reviving Tradition
India gave five young peacocks to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The peacock is India's national bird.
Four of the birds are blue Indian peacocks, and one has rare white feathers.
The white peacock was extra special because its snowy color matches the colors of the United Nations.
India's ambassador, Arindam Bagchi, gave the birds to Tatiana Valovaya, who leads the United Nations office in Geneva.
For the first three months, the peacocks will live in a temporary enclosure.
After that, they will be free to walk around Ariana Park, where other peacocks already live.
India last gave peacocks to Geneva in 1981, when Indira Gandhi was prime minister of India.
Peacocks have lived in the park since the late 1800s, when a Swiss man named Gustave Revilliod gave the park on the condition that peacocks could roam free.
This gift is a friendly way for India to show its friendship with the United Nations.
India gifted five young peacocks to the United Nations Office at Geneva: four blue Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and one rare white peacock.
Ambassador Arindam Bagchi, India's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, formally handed the birds to UN Geneva Director-General Tatiana Valovaya.
The gift comes 45 years after India's 1981 donation of a breeding pair from Delhi Zoo, arranged under then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; reports note the new birds are all males.
The peacocks will stay in a temporary enclosure for about three months before being allowed to roam freely in Ariana Park with the resident peacocks.
Officials framed the donation as a celebration of India's natural heritage — the peacock is India's national bird — and a symbol of New Delhi's commitment to multilateralism.
- Who
- Ambassador Arindam Bagchi, India's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, and UN Geneva Director-General Tatiana Valovaya
- What
- India formally gifted five young peacocks — four blue Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and one white peacock — to the United Nations Office at Geneva as a gesture of cultural diplomacy
- When
- This week, 45 years after India's previous peacock donation in 1981 (exact date not stated)
- Where
- United Nations Office at Geneva; Ariana Park, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
- Why
- To celebrate India's natural heritage — the peacock is India's national bird — and to underscore New Delhi's commitment to multilateralism, continuing a tradition dating to 1981
- Gift
- 5 young peacocks — 4 blue Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) and 1 white peacock
- Recipient
- United Nations Office at Geneva
- Handover
- Ambassador Arindam Bagchi to Director-General Tatiana Valovaya
- Location
- Ariana Park, Palais des Nations, Geneva
- Adjustment period
- About 3 months in a temporary enclosure before roaming freely
- Previous donation
- Breeding pair from Delhi Zoo in 1981, arranged under PM Indira Gandhi (45 years earlier)
- National symbol
- Peacock is India's national bird
- Park history
- Peacocks at Ariana Park since the late 19th century, per Gustave Revilliod's bequest
