Peacocks in the snow at a West Norfolk pub

A white Peacock sits on a fence at the Hare Arms in Stow Bardolph. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant © 2013)

It's not something you would expect to bump into when you visit a pub, but after 35 years the locals in a West Norfolk village are used to the odd peacock or two.

The Hare Arms at Stow Bardolph, near Downham Market, has had resident peacocks and peahens since the owners, Trish and David McManus, were given a pair for a wedding present in 1978.

At one point the couple had around 40 birds in the garden of the pub, but numbers have dwindled down to four and they are all male, so if anyone has a peahen they want re-homed, Mr and Mrs McManus would like to hear from you.

'People associate the peacocks with the pub now, we have people visiting in the summer just to see them. We are so used to them now that we treat them the same as the chickens really,' said Mrs McManus.

'We have had all sorts over the years, the coloured ones and the white ones but now we are down to the four males and it would be nice to have a peahen again,' she added.

'The villagers are really good because peacocks can be noisy between May and September - but they have been at the pub for so long now that everyone is used to them. They even act as traffic calming because they can wander in the road and people do slow down for them.'

The common Peafowl, the coloured variety, are native to the Indian sub-continent and can be found near the Himalayas, so snow and chilly weather doesn't present a problem for them.

The white variety is a genetic mutation which results in reduced pigmentation.

If anyone can help with a peahen, call the pub on 01366 382229.