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Phoenicopterus roseus
The other 'star' bird of the Ebro Delta is the Greater Flamingo, and there were plenty around, in small groups and family parties.
This juvenile has not yet gained the pinkish bill - I imagine this is a 1st summer bird ?
Distributed from Africa and southern Europe through West Asia to South Asia. Very large, with long, "coat hanger" neck, big kinked bill, and very long pinkish legs. Plumage at rest whitish with pale pink blush and some deep pink often visible on closed wings. Flies with long neck and legs extended, when deep pink-and-black wing pattern striking. eBird
Located in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong, Kowloon Park is a peaceful, green oasis right in the heart of this incredibly busy part of the city. It covers an area of just under 33 acres, with a varied landscape connected by pathways snaking through preened shrubs and ancient banyan trees. A flock of about 40 to 50 flamingos (greater and lesser admixed) like to gather at the shallow of the Bird Lake.
Flamingo diet largely consists of crustaceans and algae, which are rich in carotenoids. This pigment gives flamingos the hot pink or reddish coloration they are known for.
Phoenicopterus roseus
It was good to get a chance to photograph these distinctive birds in flight at fairly close range....
I spotted this bird in the waterhole as I was walking up towards the Abrahamskraal hide and just hoped it would stay! In the end it hung around for the whole time I was there - so excited to get close to a Greater Flamingo even if the light was a bit tricky. Not really where I expected to see one, although there were quite a few at the nearby lagoon.
Nature in Focus ~ 500px ~ G+ ~ Redbubble
Greater flamingos-Phoenicopterus roseus caught at sunset, when they leave their colony towards their night feeding marsh.
Breeding birds fly into and out of the colony at dawn and dusk, either to relieve the incubating partner or to feed the young, and some feeding activity takes place throughout the day.
The non-breeding birds, which are not constrained to visit the colony, feed almost exclusively at night and roost during the daytime. In the evening at sunset these birds fly 1-5 km (0.5-3 miles) to lagoons with a higher salinity. where a specific brine shrimp species is the only prey available. The reason for the night feeding is thought to hang together with the increased activity of the shrimp at night.
For more information, please consult "The daily cycle of feeding activity of the Greater Flamingo", by Robert H. Britton
Photo by Charlotte Blanchet – Lotus Blanc