{"id":1892668,"date":"2026-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1892668"},"modified":"2026-04-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:00:00","slug":"our-neighbors-the-peacocks-paints-a-portrait-of-an-unusual-convergence-of-populations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1892668","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Our Neighbors, the Peacocks\u2019 Paints a Portrait of an Unusual Convergence of Populations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content prose-colossal max-w-none\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"535\" height=\"322\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-1.gif\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"a gif from a short film showing peacocks and their chicks walking through a suburban front yard\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">All images \u00a9 Callie Barlow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0bc941e6 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">\u2018Our Neighbors, the Peacocks\u2019 Paints a Portrait of an Unusual Convergence of Populations<\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-20T11:00:00-05:00\">April 20, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-film\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/film\/\" rel=\"tag\">Film<\/a><a class=\"category-nature\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/nature\/\" rel=\"tag\">Nature<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/kmothes\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Kate Mothes<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-visible-labels has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-layout-flex wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\">\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-facebook has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thisiscolossal.com%2F2026%2F04%2Four-neighbors-the-peacocks-callie-barlow-short-film%2F&amp;title=%26%238216%3BOur%20Neighbors%2C%20the%20Peacocks%27%20Paints%20a%20Portrait%20of%20an%20Unusual%20Convergence%20of%20Populations\" aria-label=\"Share\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tShare\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"color: #1c1e0d\" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-mail has-crow-color wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#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\" aria-label=\"Email\" class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-anchor\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing-link-label \"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEmail\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"473048\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When we think of \u201cinvasive species,\u201d perhaps zebra mussels or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2025\/08\/zac-henderson-palimpsest\/\">kudzu vine<\/a> spring to mind. Both have flourished in their non-native environments and continue to threaten other native organisms. Invasive species aren\u2019t inherently bad\u2014they\u2019re just trying to survive\u2014but by definition, they\u2019re likely to disrupt local ecosystems and even cause <a href=\"https:\/\/ocean.si.edu\/ocean-life\/plants-algae\/rough-reputation-are-invasive-species-all-bad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">billions of dollars<\/a> worth of damage each year. So, what does one California city have to say about its burgeoning population of\u2026 peacocks?<\/p>\n<p>Introduced by a businessman and land baron named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbssocal.org\/shows\/departures\/elias-lucky-baldwin-land-baron-of-southern-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elias Lucky Baldwin<\/a> more than a century ago, the avian population has long called the area home. Over the years, though, as the originally open area filled with homes and commercial strips, efforts by local residents end up at odds, as some would like to protect the birds and others would prefer to see them sent away altogether. In a short film titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UOLzjeoEdNc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Our Neighbors, the Peacocks<\/a>,\u201d filmmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/calliebarlow.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Callie Barlow<\/a> traces the unusual history of peafowl in Los Angeles County through the eyes of some of its current residents.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Arcadia, California, sits in the San Gabriel Valley about 45 minutes from downtown Los Angeles. Dozens of peacocks, which are carefully watched over by some and detested by others, meander through residents\u2019 yards, traipse around on rooftops, peck at cars, call from trees, and of course, display their beautiful feathers\u2014especially during mating season.<\/p>\n<p>In her short documentary, Barlow invites locals to share their love\u2014or loathing\u2014for the vibrant birds as she highlights how Arcadia\u2019s history of protecting the birds has perhaps led to something of an overpopulation problem. Nearby neighborhoods participate in relocation programs, while Arcadia\u2019s birds are protected, and opinions about how to deal with growing numbers land all along the spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Our Neighbors, the Peacocks\u2019 resists the urge to resolve the tension it so clearly lays out,\u201d says Jason Sondhi, who selected the film for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@shortoftheweek\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Short of the Week<\/a>. \u201cInstead, it leans into a modest but resonant idea articulated by its director that living alongside these animals might require \u2018putting aside your own discomforts to find a deeper meaning in nature.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>See the film on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UOLzjeoEdNc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-2.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473048\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1203\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-2.jpeg\" alt=\"a still from a short film showing peacocks walking through a suburban front yard\" class=\"wp-image-473051\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-4.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473048\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1179\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-4.jpeg\" alt=\"a still from a short film showing a woman seated in her living room, surrounding by eclectic decor and wearing peacock-feather leggings\" class=\"wp-image-473049\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-3.jpeg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-473048\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/peacocks-3.jpeg\" alt=\"a still from a short film showing a peacock with its feathers on full display\" class=\"wp-image-473050\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark> Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"118516\">Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div 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Both have flourished in their non-native environments and continue to threaten other native [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,270],"class_list":["post-1892668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-thisiscolossal-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1892668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1892668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1892668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1892668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1892668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}