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(Many pigeon species also produce crop milk.)Īfter two weeks, flamingo chicks join other chicks in the colony to form a large nursery creche, supervised by the parents. The chick’s begging seems to stimulate production of this milk, either in its parents or in other adult foster-feeders. During this time, both parents take turns feeding it a type of “milk” called crop milk, which comes from the parents’ digestive tract. The chick stays in the nest for up to two weeks. Bringing Up BabyĪ Caribbean flamingo hatchling is gray-white, and for the first month or so its bill is straight, not curved like an adult bill. Both parents take turns sitting on the nest (folding their legs beneath them) until the chick hatches. The mound serves to protect the egg and chick from floods and ground heat. A flamingo nest is simple – basically just a mound of mud about a foot high. Once a pair of flamingos breeds, both male and female help build a nest. This simultaneous breeding assures that most of the birds in the colony lay their eggs and raise their young at the same time. Breeding season is quite a sight, with large numbers of flamingos engaged in elaborate courtship displays - including marching, head turning (known as flagging), calling and preening. Scientists think flamingos need a "critical mass" of birds to initiate breeding and that smaller flocks tend not to breed as well as larger ones. Pair bonds are not strong, and pairs may change from one season to the next. Within a colony, flamingos breed in pairs, usually all at about the same time. A flamingo’s wingspan can range from three to five feet, depending on the size of the bird.
![flamingo animal flamingo animal](https://www.theanimalfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/American-Flamingo-1-2.jpg)
They stretch out their long necks and legs and spread their wings so the black undersides are visible. The birds are quite distinctive looking in flight. They eat by day, but when a feeding area no longer provides enough food for the flock, the birds move to another location at night. The birds are very vocal and use a wide variety of honks, alarm calls and other vocalizations.įlamingos in a colony feed together, breed together, and fly together.
![flamingo animal flamingo animal](https://www.toledozoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Flamingo-Web-3.jpg)
The sound of a large flamingo flock is also impressive (they’re often mistaken for geese) and can be heard a great distance away.
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They live in large groups, sometimes up to tens of thousands of birds, an undulating ocean of pink. An Ocean of Pinkįlamingos are social birds. Their brilliant red, hot pinks, corals and oranges come from the carotenoid pigments in the algae and in some of the crustaceans that the birds eat (similar to the pigment in carrots). (Baleen whales filter feed like this, too, though without the sucking tongue and long bill!)Įven the flamingos’ notoriously-colored plumage is a result of their diet. Their upper and lower jaws have ridged edges that serve as a filter, straining out water and mud at the sides of the bill, so the bird swallows little except its prey. With a unique pumping action of their piston-like tongue, they suck up a variety of small animals, including small shrimp and other crustaceans, mollusks, invertebrates like insects and larvae, and blue-green algae. (They can even swim, if necessary.)įlamingos use their webbed feet to stir up the mud, then plunge their long bill upside down underwater. Their elongated body, neck and legs allow them to wade into much deeper water than most shore birds, thereby expanding their food choices. And then there’s the matter of color – how many animals can you name that are HOT PINK? They Are What They Eatįlamingos owe their peculiar looks to their feeding habits. Its body is extremely slender, its head small, its bill strangely curved and hooked. No doubt about it – the flamingo is a curious-looking bird. Shallow coastal lagoons, salt lakes and mudflats Bahamas, West Indies, the Mexican Yucatan, northern South America, Galapagos Islands occasionally, coastal United States from the Carolinas to Texas