PEACOCKS STRUT THEIR STUFF AT MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY

Keifer Cox, left, Danny Stone and Mckena Sharp watched the birds after feeding them corn.

Jim Lunsford remembers going to feed the peacocks at Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau when he was a little boy.

Now the maintenance supervisor at the cemetery, Lunsford is still feeding the peacocks and organizing tours for the busloads of visitors who come every spring and summer to see the exotic birds.

For a nickel, visitors can feed corn to the peacocks and the turkeys also displayed at the cemetery.

"About every day care around here that I know of has been out here once or twice or more. A lot of people that come out to the county park, they'll bring the kids out to see the peacocks," Lunsford said. "During the summer, there's not a day that goes by that somebody doesn't come out and look at them."

Native to India and Java, peafowl -- which are related to pheasants -- were brought to Europe by traders and quickly became symbols of wealth. Peacocks were featured entrees at opulent banquets and the feathers were prized as art objects.

Eventually, the birds were also brought to the United States, where they were allowed to roam the estates of the wealthy.

Peacocks are raised for display and also for meat and eggs in this country.

The male bird features the luxurious tail feathers, which he displays to attract a mate.

Caring for the birds is "real easy," Lunsford said.

"In fact, they're pretty clean," he said. "We rake the cages and kind of keep the feathers that fall out cleaned up. About midsummer, all the tail feathers fall out and we'll give them to the kids that come out."

About a dozen of the birds, along with several turkeys, now live at Memorial Park.

Years ago, the birds roamed the cemetery at will, roosting in the trees, said Kevin Ford, owner and manager of the cemetery.

"They used to run loose out here until the roads were put in, then they were penned up," Ford said.

Every once in a while, one of the birds flies the coop, Lunsford said, and the chase is on.

"We had a couple of them get out overnight. They roosted in the trees. We put some feed out by the cage and that kind of steered them in," he said.

Peacocks may be beautiful, but the males can be very territorial, and they can get a little loud if they decide someone's intruding on their turf.

Their cries can be a little disconcerting in the cemetery's quiet atmosphere.

"They kind of sound off every once in a while when the preacher's out here," Lunsford said.

"They're like a watchdog," he said. "They stay close to home and any noise they hear sets them off. You can drive by in a vehicle, and they'll sound off."

The cemetery was founded in 1932, and the Ford family took it over in 1985 from the family of Mildred and Troy Strom.

The peacocks have been kept there for 30, 40 years, Ford estimated.

"You wouldn't believe the traffic out here just to see the peacocks," he said.

"People ask about them all the time," he said. "It's as much a part of the cemetery as anything else. People enjoy them and ask about them.

"As long as we're around, I guess the peacocks will be here."