I like to use the term peafowl when refering to 'peacocks'. Even some peafowl breeders refer to all peafowl as peacocks.
The truth is, the word peacock is refering to the male bird. The word peafowl refers to the species as a whole. That is why I call them peafowl instead of peacocks. A hunter wouldn't call all deer does and say to people that he shot a 10 point doe when really what he shot was a buck. Would he? No, he would say he shot a buck.
General Terms:
Peafowl - Refers to the species as a whole.
Peacock - The male bird.
Peahen - The female bird.
Peachick - The baby bird.
India Blue Peafowl - Also known as the common peafowl. This is a wild-type peafowl found in India. Most peafowl breeders have India Blue peafowl. The India Blue peafowl has been used to create different varieties of peafowl like whites, pieds, etc.
Pavo cristatus - The scientific name of the India Blue Peafowl.
Crest - The 'mohawk' feathers on top of a peafowl's head. Both peacocks and peahens have these fancy head feathers.
Train - The tail coverts that peafowl have. Often inncorrectly thought to be the 'tail' of the peacock. These are the long feathers the peacock displays with. Peahens also have a train, but it is the same length of their tail underneath. Peahens will sometimes fan out their train.
Green Peafowl - The other wild type peafowl. The green peafowl is Endangered and is found in scattered areas around Asia such as Java and Malaysia. There are some articles about green peafowl that you can check out on the Articles page.
Pavo Muticus - The scientific name of the green peafowl.
Bevy - A group of peafowl.
