Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iōjima's Peacocks
(
硫黄島孔雀
)
In nature, peafowl (male: peacock; female: peahen; juveniles: peachicks) are birds of the forest. They
roost in trees but make their nests on the ground. They are foragers and omnivores, feeding on virtu-
ally all plants, seeds, insects, worms and small repiles or amphibians. They generally travel in packs.
Worldwide there are two species: the Indian Blue (
Pavo cristatus
), which is relaively common and
breeds well, and the Burmese Green (
Pavo muicus
), which is rare and endangered. They are both
members of the pheasant family. The white peafowl comes from a geneic mutaion called Leucism
.
They are not albinos and do not have red eyes. Leucism is characterized by reduced pigmentaion in
the hair and skin of animals and humans. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reducion in all types of skin
pigment, not just melanin. It is rare in peacocks and other animals, but on Iōjima at least a quarter of
the peafowl have it and are white.
Shōwa Iōjima, a new piece of terra firma that emerged in 1934.
HIGASHI-NO TATIGAMIIWA
(
東ノ立神岩
; Higashi-no Tatigami-iwa). Here is yet another
monolith of stone called “Standing God Rock” or, in this case, “Eastern” Standing God Rock.
It is located 490 feet (75 meters) offshore from the nearby Higashi Onsen on Iōjima's south-
7
KUROSHIMA
黒島
The most distant of the Mishima mini archipelago, “Black Island” is sometimes said to be
a “mini Yakushima” for it also an almost perfectly round, mountainous though not super
tall lush and green island, only it is smaller than Yakushima. Kuroshima (
黒島
; Kuro-shima)
