If you find yourself in need of a pet peacock, the tiny outback town of Elliott can help.
Along the Stuart Highway, around 700 kilometres south of Darwin, the roughly 290 residents of Elliott have long played host to a growing feral population of one of nature's most gloriously adorned creatures.
But far from the majesty and awe they usually inspire, Elliott's feral peacocks and peahens have attracted the ire of locals.
Now the town has found a unique solution to its peafowl problem with its new adopt-a-peacock program.
Mysterious origins
Feral peafowls have found some unlikely homes around Australia, they are known as murderous bullies in Darwin and a prettier alternative to pet chickens at a remote WA roadhouse.
But how they made their way to Elliott remains shrouded in mystery.
"It was a surprise when they first came here," said Mona Rennie, a Jingili woman and long-term Elliott resident.
"The people here, we didn't know what kind of birds they were."
Thousands of kilometres from their native Indian and Sri Lankan forests, the peafowls since spread their wings and multiplied, making themselves at home in the outback.
Some locals say as many as 150 peafowls – one for every second person – lived in Elliott when the population boomed, while others believe there were only ever seven.
Currently, there are about 30 birds, according to the Barkly Regional Council.
They're a source of excitement for passing tourists and working holiday-makers such as Laura Goldmann.
On her first morning in town, she woke up to a brilliant ostentation of six peafowls on her doorstep waiting expectantly for her to feed them scraps.
"I was expecting some like lizard [or] these kind of animals like kangaroos. But these colourful animals – not at all," she saId.
But as long-term Elliott local Bob Bagnall pointed out, one key issue besmirches the Elliott peafowls' reputation.
"They poop on the cars, they poop everywhere," he said.
They have also terrorised residents by digging up backyards and squawking loudly in the middle of the night.
"They're a nuisance. They dig up everything and they move around a lot," Ms Rennie said.
Adopt-a-peacock programme showing promise
When Mr Bagnall raised concerns in a meeting with the local council last year, its mayor put the call-out for individuals and properties to give the peacocks a loving home.
So far, new homes in the region have been identified for 26 peahens and peacocks.
The council is now waiting for the birds to finish nesting before they entrap them.
As it's a solution that avoids the need to cull them, which makes it an attractive one for some locals including Venus Roberts, who admires the birds.
"I don't mind if they move the peacocks. As long as [they're] not killed," she said.
For now, Barkly Regional Council chief executive Ian Bodill wants you to know one thing.
"If anybody wants peacocks out there, we can help," he said.