the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > [noun] > paro cristatus (peafowl) > parts of (5)
The tail coverts of a peacock collectively, which the bird is able to erect and expand like a fan behind its body. (In quot. 1513 in Heraldry).
A barb or filament of a (peacock's) feather. (Cf. strand, n.4 3b.)
Transferred senses. A barb or fibre of a feather. (Cf. strain, n.3 3.)