After decades of strutting their stuff around the Oregon Zoo, the peacocks' days in Washington Park are numbered.

Zoo officials announced Friday that they plan to put the resident peacocks and peahens up for adoption to suitable rural homes -- just as soon as keepers can catch the wily, free-roaming birds.

The elaborately feathered beasts came under public scrutiny a week ago, when one scuffled with a 4-year-old boy, landing on his head and scratching his face. The child did not require medical attention.

Peacocks have ambled the grounds for as long as any employee can recall -- perhaps since the zoo moved to Washington Park in 1959. But the birds, members of the pheasant family, also fly off zoo grounds into the forest and elsewhere whenever the mood strikes them. They return freely, drawn by safe roosts and a scrumptious supply of spilled popcorn, French fries and actual peacock feed.

The flock once numbered 30 or more, said Mike Keele, deputy director, but the zoo has steadily reduced the numbers as concerns about disease transmission between free-flying birds and captive animals escalated. Fewer than 10 peafowl roam the zoo today, Keele said.

Although they avoid capture as skillfully as veteran fugitives, in 2002, keepers caught all the peacocks so veterinarians could perform vasectomies.

The vasectomies were the easy part.

Catching the birds took a few months: The peacocks swiftly learned to flap off and perch high in fir trees when they saw a uniformed zookeeper headed their way.

As it became better understood that the birds might be able to transmit salmonella, West Nile virus or other diseases to species confined in exhibits, the zoo decided to eventually farm out the whole peafowl flock. Last week's attack propelled zoo staff to expedite the plan.

Despite their elegant appearance and dapper plumage, the birds are not well-mannered zoo animals.

Males establish territories and females roam the zoo in search of them. They swipe other animals' food and defecate in their exhibits, just as a housefly might move rudely from one picnic table to the next.

"It's a big wildcard having animals move from exhibit to exhibit," said Mitch Finnegan, zoo veterinarian. "You don't know what they're transferring and moving through the zoo."

So now, the zoo is looking for a few good farms -- rural spots where the birds' shrieks, eerie cries and messy habits won't annoy the neighbors.

Keele said he had a pair of pet peafowl as a boy. "They follow you around," he said. "They look forward to seeing you. They're wonderful animals."

Those interested in adopting one or more can go to the zoo's Web site -- www.oregonzoo.org, click on "Contact us" and ship the zoo an e-mail.

Then all the zoo folks have to do is catch 'em.

--Katy Muldoon; katymuldoon@news.oregonian.com