From the moment you arrive, you may come across a majestic bird with a long, slender neck. The shimmering blue male, willingly displays its feathers in public during the mating season : it is of course a Peacock, the garden’s mascot ! They live freely in the gardens, adding to the beauty of the park, as do the magnificent collector’s pigeons, cooing in the shelter of their aviary.

This menagerie reflects the naturalistic spirit of the 19th century. You can admire period dioramas, life-size wildlife scenes and old testimonials of the taste for natural science. In 1861, Julien de Cerval, heir to Marqueyssac, received first prize for his collection of fruit trees. He was part of the of the intellectual world, influenced by the recently published « The Evolution of Species » by Charles Darwin. These were effervescent times full of curiosity and research… And while the Périgord revealed a rich prehistoric past with many sites dotted throughout the Vezere valley, across the Atlantic, the ancestors of our current birds, the first ever dinosaur fossils, were brought to light.