5/12/2023 0 Comments Flamingo legsBoth sexes are alike but the male is slightly larger.Īndean Flamingo: The Andean Flamingo has a pale pink plumage with darker pink upperparts, neck, breast, wing coverts, and black primary flight feathers. Captive Flamingos are fed with a special diet and beta-carotene or canthaxanthin additives may be added to their food to maintain their pink feathers.Īmerican Flamingo: The large American Flamingo has a deep pink plumage, primary and secondary flight feathers are black and wing coverts are red, a pink and white beak with a restrictive black tip, and pink legs and webbed feet. Why are Flamingos Pink and what do they eat?įlamingos are actually born with grey feathers but later they gain a pink plumage which is due to their natural diet of shrimp and algae which contain pigments called carotenoids. A flamingo will lay a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound. They feed on Algae, diatoms, crustaceans, shrimp, and insects. Flamingos feed by putting their large beak upside down in the water and use their tongue and beak to suck in and filter food from the mud and water. They also stamp their feet to stir up food from the muddy waters. Both of these species have yellow on their beaks.įlamingos can often be seen standing on one leg in the water which may be a way for them to conserve body heat. The Andean Flamingo and the James's Flamingo are closely related and are often placed in the genus Phoenicoparrus instead of Phoenicopterus. The American Flamingo is also large but generally does not have such a pale plumage as the Greater Flamingo. The Greater Flamingo is the largest species and has a long curved neck and restrictive black tip on the beak. The Andean Flamingo and James's Flamingo both have yellow beaks with black tips but the James's Flamingo has bright red skin between the eye and the beak and the Andean Flamingo has a distinctive black triangle patch on its plumage. The Lesser Flamingo is the smallest Flamingo and has a dark red beak and dark yellow-orange eyes surrounded by a reddish-brown ring and dark bare skin between the eye and beak. Unless these threats are dealt with, flamingoes may become endangered.The Chilean Flamingo is the only species to have grey legs with pink leg joints. The main danger to flamingoes comes from pollution and loss of habitat. However, they have not yet found the reason why this is happening. Scientists have discovered that flamingos are dying by the thousands along the East African Rift lakes. Flamingoes sometimes swim to get their food, and sometimes by ‘upend’ themselves, with tail feathers in the air, and head underwater- like ducks. Here, briny plates called lamellae act like tiny filters, trapping shrimp and other small water creatures for the flamingo to eat. It feeds by sucking water and mud in at the front of its bill and then pumping it out again at the sides. They stand on one leg most of the time, as they find it very comfortable! Flamingos are quite distinctive when they fly, with their long necks stretched out in front and the equally long legs trailing behind.įlamingos can be as tall as a 12 year old child- five feet- but weigh only as much as a new born baby! Their long legs let flamingos wade into deeper water than most other birds to look for food. In East Africa, more than one million flamingos may gather together-forming the largest flocks known among birds today. Flamingos like to live in groups of varying sizes, from a few pair to sometimes thousands or tens of thousands. With their bright pink or red color, long legs and strong beaks, flamingos are one of the most easily recognizable of birds. Flamingos are found in large, shallow lakes or lagoons.
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