Peafowls Spotted at Tilles Center in Brookville

Two peafowls have taken a liking to the scenic LIU Post campus in Brookville. How they found the campus, and whom they belong to, at the moment, is anyone’s guess. But campus officials are keeping a protective eye out for the exotic birds while trying to track down their origins.  

Visitors to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts discovered the birds on Sunday morning, when parents delivered their teenagers for a rehearsal of the Long Island Youth Orchestra. The female (peahen) and a male (peacock) stood off to the corner by the glass doors of the main entrance. Content, they didn’t seem at all bothered by the students entering the building.  

Just before the show, the birds were spotted in that same sunny corner, occasionally pecking at the glass, and at the ground, looking for food.  

They were there again, at about 4 p.m., when the musicians and audience members left the theater. It was then that the peahen got a little too close to the ledge, and dropped down several feet to the ground, where there was new terrain to discover. Noticing that his companion was no longer by his side, the peacock began to coo, presumably saying, “Hey, where are you?” The peahen responded, and the two ran to each other – he down the ramp to the ground level, and she across the grass to meet him. Reunited, the two began pecking at sidewalk, and seemed to forget the brief separation.  

The birds were spotted again Monday on campus, said Rita Langdon, LIU Post’s associate provost for communications, public relations and marketing.  

“The birds are not affiliated with the campus and their origins are unknown,” Langdon said. “Campus officials have notified the local police departments in Old Brookville and Old Westbury in the event the birds are the pets of a local resident or neighbor.”  

Meanwhile the birds are getting their share of admirers.  

Said Langdon, “The peafowls look beautiful on our picturesque campus which serves as a natural habitat for various species of birds and pheasants.”