Brisbane peacock Hex walks into a bathroom and falls for his own reflection

Geoff and Delwyn Ballantyne of Alexandra Hills, a Brisbane suburb, nipped out for coffee. They came home to a fully grown peacock gazing adoringly at himself in their bathroom mirror.

Geoff reckons the bird was in the front yard and walked in when the garage door opened. “When we got in, there he was, admiring himself,” he said. Delwyn screamed, thinking they had an intruder – then said it was a peacock. Geoff tried not to believe her, because it was not believable.

Stock photo: a peacock displaying (September 2025) – not Hex. Photo: Thampithangavelu / CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons).

Water and crackers failed to break the gaze. Wildlife rescuers wrangled the bird into a towel and released him into nearby bushland.

He later started paying afternoon visits to Suzie Tafolo’s acreage home, also in Alexandra Hills. She suspected he belonged to tattoo artist Elliot Ross, who was looking for a missing peacock named Hex. Ross confirmed it from Hex’s unusual plumage; he has owned the bird a couple of years.

AI illustration – imagined reunion bait. (Spot Gaz, our gorilla, hiding somewhere in this picture.)

Tafolo Googled how to catch a peacock, found they love mirrors, and carted a full-length mirror to the back shed where Hex turns up. He took an interest on Tuesday; she remains hopeful.

AI illustration – imagined rescue, not the real rescuers.

Ross said this was Hex’s first walkabout beyond a neighbour’s property; they have a female who stayed. Professor emeritus Darryl Jones of Griffith University called it unusual – most birds treat a reflection as a rival – and guessed Hex might just be lonely. “Peacocks are not that smart,” he said. Hex remained on the run after being evicted.

Stock photo: a peacock in a backyard (November 2025) – not Hex. Photo: Ramesh Sankaranarayanan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons).

Reported by The Guardian (Tracey Ferrier, 3 Nov 2026).