WATCH: Laois locals in Portlaoise estate receive unexpected visitor on their roofs!

Laois locals in a nearby housing estate received an unexpected surprise this week.

Residents in the Esker Hills area of Portlaoise were surprised when they opened their blinds on Monday morning, to find a face peering back at them!

A young male peacock has become lost, and is roaming from rooftop to rooftop in Esker Hills.

Laois SPCA and Kildare Wildlife Rescue have been searching for the owner of the peacock, to no avail.

Laois SPCA volunteers in the area have fed the peacock peanuts and fruit, and are hoping that he is not too far from his home. They are hoping that someone will come forward and claim the lost peacock, or that he will fly home soon.

The peacock spent all day Monday and through the night moving between the roofs, and seems to have flown somewhere else on Tuesday morning. It is not known if the peacock has returned to its home.

"It was just so unusual to see a peacock in a housing estate, I was initially concerned he was stressed when he started calling," one Esker Hills resident told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"It was a cold and windy day so he was very windblown and I was hoping he'd come down to a more sheltered area.

"I got great advice from Julie Anne on the Laois SPCA volunteers page as to what they eat, so at least once he had access to food and looked content. I left the rest up to him. My grandkids loved him and because he sat on the windowsill, they could get up nice and close. Hopefully he's found his way home," they finished.

Laois SPCA volunteer Julie Ann Kelly told us that it is currently mating season for peacocks, and the birds can fly up to 20 kilometres away from their home in search of a mate.

"This is definitely a male peacock, at least a year old but under two as he hasn't his adult plumage. They will roost up high at night, preferably on a roof or high trees, and will come to the ground for food during the day," she said.

"They can come home but not always. We have had experience with three taking off and never returning, but were sighted initially eight kilometres away, and then 15 kilometres away," Ms Kelly explained.

Kildare Wildlife Rescue declined to comment.

Do you own this gorgeous bird? Help him get back home! If you have information, please Kildare Wildlife Rescue.

Last summer, Kildare Wildlife Rescue saved several swans and cygnets from a pond in Laois, which was polluted following an oil spill. Read more on the story here.