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The greater flamingo is the largest and most widespread of all flamingo species.
STATUS: The greater flamingo is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Many of the flocks include hundreds of thousands of birds.
HABITAT: The range of the greater flamingo includes Africa, southwest Europe, the Middle East, southwest Asia, India and Sri Lanka. Some of the flocks in the northern parts of their range migrate south in the winter. They live near shallow water, either fresh or salty lakes or coastal lagoons and river estuaries. They are tolerant of very salty water.
DIET: Flamingos are filter feeders, eating a wide variety of small arthropods like shrimp and copepods, worms, small mollusks and insect larvae. The head, with its unique bent beak, is lowered into the water and the tongue is used rapidly pump water and mud in and out of the mouth. As the water leaves the beak, small projections, called lamellae, catch the food which is then swallowed. The coloration of the flamingo results from carotenoid pigments found in their food. In the zoo, flamingos eat a special flamingo food containing canthaxanthin to maintain their color.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Greater flamingos have very long legs and necks, so they can be up to five feet tall. They weigh 9-10 lbs and have a 5 ½ foot wingspan. Their bodies are light pink with red wing coverts and black fight feathers. Greater flamingos can be distinguished from other flamingos by the bright “bubblegum” pink on their beaks. Both sexes are similar, with the males being slightly larger. Flamingos are very noisy birds with a goose-like honk both on the ground and when flying.
Los Angeles Zoo. California.
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Flamingos like to stand on one leg to conserve energy. They get there color from shrimp and carrots and there bill is very curvy. They are wading birds that love the wild much better than zoos. I took this at Busch Gardens New Years Eve.
Flamingos are filter feeders. They walk in the shallow, salty water and stir up the bottom with their long legs. The flamingo then leans its long neck down to the water and scoops up a mouthful of water, then closes its mouth and uses its tongue to force the water through comb-like extensions on the beak that allow the water to escape while retaining food to be swallowed. Flamingos are not picky eaters -- through stomach content analysis, scientists have documented dozens of flamingo foods, including crustaceans, worms, algae, insects, organic debris, plant material and fish. The crustaceans and algae contain carotenoids that produce the birds’ pink coloration. Because the flamingo must use its beak in an upside-down manner, the beak has evolved to reflect this. The flamingo’s top beak functions like the bottom beak of most birds, and vice versa. Flamingos are among the very few animals that are able to move their top jaw while eating.