Peacocks' striking feather displays fail to excite, much less interest, females, according to new research.

This throws a wrench in the long-held belief that male peacock feathers evolved in response to female mate choice.

It could also indicate that certain other elaborate features in galliformes - a group that includes turkeys, chickens, grouse, quails and pheasants, as well as peacocks - are not necessarily linked to fitness and mating success.

For Indian peafowl, which the researchers studied, male vocalisations appear to do a better job of grabbing females' attention than their visually screaming 'attire'.

"We have the idea that peacock calls most influence peahens [female peacocks]," says lead author Dr Mariko Takahashi, a Japanese researcher at the University of Tokyo.

The findings are published in the latest issue of the journal Animal Behaviour.