Flamingo territory. Flamingo - the scarlet sunset bird, a symbol of grace and beauty

Flamingo (lat. Phoenicopterclassae) is the only family of birds in the order of flamingo-like birds with long, thin legs and a flexible neck, a large beak curved downwards, the horny plates of the tongue and jaws of which help it filter food obtained from water and silt. The hind toe is either poorly developed or absent at all; the front toes form a swimming membrane.

The plumage of birds is soft and loose, absent on the head in the region of the eyes, bridle and chin. The tail is short. Includes six species: Andean flamingo, red flamingo, lesser flamingo, common flamingo, Chilean flamingo and James flamingo.

The body length of an adult bird ranges from 105 (Chilean flamingo) - 110 (red flamingo) to 130 centimeters (pink flamingo), weight - 3.5 - 4.5 kilograms. Distributed in southwestern Europe, Africa, southwestern Asia, central and southern North America. Flocking birds nest in colonies (sometimes tens of thousands of individuals) on shallow sea coasts and salt lakes.

All flamingos are pink. Perhaps only in songs .... In fact, the color of flamingo plumage varies from white to red and even crimson. Somewhere in the middle, of course, is the pink hue inherent in the largest flamingo species - the pink flamingo. Flamingo wingtips are black. Males and females are colored the same. The degree of brightness of the plumage depends on the carotenoid - a substance that enters the bird's body with food. Birds living in captivity, as well as young individuals, receiving an insufficient amount of carotenoids, have white feathers. To preserve their color, flamingos in captivity are fed not only seafood, but also carrots.

Flamingos live in the south. In Southeast (Southern Afghanistan) and Central Asia (Northwest India), Africa (lakes of Kenya, South Tunisia, Morocco, North Mauritania, on the Cape Verde Islands), South (Andean flamingos) and Central America (red and Chilean flamingos). Colonies of pink flamingos are found in Sardinia and the south of France (Camargue reserve, at the mouth of the Rhone River) and Spain (Las Marismas).

Flamingos live in colonies. And quite large: in one colony, sometimes you can count up to a million birds. Flamingos settle on the banks of small reservoirs, shallow waters, lagoons, while they do not disdain those that no other living creature will live next to: for example, near very salty or alkaline lakes. It is also interesting that flamingos live not only on the plains, but also high in the mountains - for example, in the Andes.

Before taking off, flamingos run through the water. This is true, usually the length of the run is 5-6 meters and falls on shallow water. In the sky, the flamingo flies in the shape of a cross, stretching its neck and legs.

Flamingos stand on one leg, because at this time they warm the other. The flamingo's legs are long, there are no feathers on them, respectively, and the heat from such a surface, especially in windy weather, leaves very quickly. It is to keep warm that the flamingo stands on one leg, especially since such a position, due to the physiological specifics of the flamingo's paw, does not present any difficulties for the bird.

Flamingos eat fish. In fact, they feed on other aquatic foods: algae, seeds of aquatic plants, insect larvae and small crustaceans (planktonic crustaceans), which supply the flamingo's body with carotenoid. In case of a shortage of food in their places of residence, flamingos can fly for it within 30-50 kilometers to other lakes. The process of eating a flamingo looks quite interesting: the bird plunges its head upside down with its beak into the water, steps from one foot to the other, and thus drives the water with possible food past its beak, which filters the edible from the inedible. Flamingos feed at any time of the day and regardless of weather conditions.

Flamingos build their nests out of mud. This is what male flamingos do. The nests are in the form of a conical column with a truncated top and a cup-shaped depression on top. Unlike the nests of other birds, flamingo nests are bare - they do not have grass or any other insulating vegetation. Nest size - from 10 to 60 cm, diameter at the base - 40-50 cm. The nest usually contains from 1 to 3 olive-green eggs. Flamingo nests are located next to each other, usually at a distance of 50 to 80 cm. Future parents sit on the nest with their legs tucked in, and get out of it, resting their beak on the ground and only then straightening their legs.

Flamingos feed the chicks with a special liquid. A kind of bird's "milk", consisting of special secretions from the glands of the lower part of the esophagus and pancreas, semi-digested crustaceans and algae. The nutritional value of this liquid is quite comparable to the nutritional value of mammalian milk. Small flamingos feed on bird "milk" for the first two months of their lives and intensively grow their beak for self-feeding.

Common poaching has led to the worldwide decline of flamingos. And the ruin of the nests of pink-feathered beauties. One of the types of flamingos - the James flamingo, inhabiting the Bolivian and north Argentine Andes, was generally considered extinct at the beginning of the last century, it was found only in 1957. At the moment, flamingos are listed in the Red Books of many countries, including the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Until recently, flamingos were classified as a stork, but scientists have come to the conclusion that flamingos should be placed in a separate order - flamingos.

2. The birds got their name from the Latin word flamenco - “fire”, which indicates their bright color.

3. Nowadays, 6 species of flamingos live on Earth: small, ordinary or pink, Caribbean or red, Chilean, James flamingo and Andean flamingo.

4. Flamingos prefer to live near salty shallow lakes, in coastal lagoons, on shallows and near estuaries.

5. Flamingos belong to one of the oldest bird families. Fossil remains of flamingos closest to modern forms date back 30 million years ago, while fossils of more primitive species found are over 50 million years old. The fossils were found in places where flamingos are no longer seen today - parts of Europe, North America and Australia. This indicates that they had a much wider range in the past.

Pink flamingo

6. The pink flamingo is the most common type of flamingo. Common, or pink flamingos live in Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia. They are the largest of the flamingos. Pink flamingo reaches 1.2-1.5 meters in height and weighs up to 4 kilograms.

7. It is also the only species of flamingo that lives on the territory of the former Soviet Union in Kazakhstan (Lake Tengiz, Lake Chelkartengiz and Lake Ashchitastysor).

8. In Europe, flamingos nest in the Camargue Nature Reserve, at the mouth of the Rhone River (Southern France), as well as in Las Marismas in Southern Spain. In Africa, the bird nests on the lakes of Morocco, Southern Tunisia, Northern Mauritania, Kenya, the Cape Verde Islands, and the south of the continent. It also lives on the lakes of Southern Afghanistan (at an altitude of up to 3000 m) and North-Western India (Kach), nested in Sri Lanka not so long ago.

9. In Russia, flamingos do not nest, but are regularly observed on migrations - at the mouth of the Volga River, in Dagestan, Kalmykia, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. It also flies to the south of Siberia in the Altai Territory, Tyumen, Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk regions, Buryatia, Irkutsk region, Yakutia, Primorye, Urals. Flamingos flying through Russia winter in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

10. It is estimated that an ordinary flamingo eats up to a quarter of its own weight in food per day. A colony of half a million pink flamingos in India consumes approximately 145 tons of food per day.

lesser flamingo

11. The lesser flamingo lives in Africa and the northern parts of India and is the smallest of the flamingos. The small flamingo is only a little over 0.8 meters long and weighs an average of 2.5 kilograms.

12. Pink flamingos have the palest feather colors, while Caribbean flamingos are famous for their bright pink, almost red feathers.

13. Pink or red coloring of flamingo plumage is given by lipochrome dyes, which birds receive with food.

14. Flamingos are social birds that live in groups of various sizes. They gather in flocks when they fly from place to place, and also prefer to stay in groups when they are on the ground.

15. When eating, flamingos lower their heads under water, draw in water with their beaks, sifting through the nutritious foods they eat, and the water comes out through the beak. Tiny, hair-like filters help weed out food and release water. One study showed that a special float that supports the bird's head allows it to feed by turning its head upside down and keeping it on the surface of the water.

Caribbean (red) flamingo

16. Caribbean flamingos can be found in the Caribbean, in the north South America, in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and the Galapagos Islands.

17. The long legs of flamingos help them to walk along the bottom even at relatively great depths in search of food, which gives them some advantages over other birds.

18. The ancient Romans highly valued flamingo tongue as a delicacy. Flamingos also eat meat and eggs in different parts Sveta.

19. Flamingos can also be found on high mountain lakes. In addition, they are able to tolerate very large temperature fluctuations.

20. In the family way of life of flamingos, equality reigns. Here, both the male and the female are involved in the process of bearing, and then raising the chicks. Male flamingos incubate the eggs laid by the female along with their girlfriend.

Chilean flamingo

21. Chilean flamingos are found in the southwest of South America.

22. Flamingos have a massive, downward-curving beak, which has a movable lower part, which distinguishes it from other birds.

23. Males tend to be larger than females and have much longer legs.

24. Average age Flamingos are about 30 years old. In reserves and zoos, these birds live longer than in the wild.

25. Flamingos have loud and shrill cries.

Flamingo James

26. Flamingos James live only in South America: in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

27. These birds can fly, but in order to get off the ground, they need a short run. During the flight, they extend their long necks and legs in one straight line.

28. In danger, flamingos take off, and it is difficult for a predator to choose a certain prey from them, especially since the flight feathers on the wings are always black, and when flying they make it difficult to focus on the prey.

29. Flamingos can float well, though not very deep. However, it is almost impossible to catch them doing this - they prefer to walk, swaying smoothly from side to side, rather than bathe their feathers in the water.

30. One can safely say about graceful flamingos that they go from one extreme to another. So, these unusual and beautiful birds live either in hot volcanic lakes or in icy water.

Andean flamingo

31. The Andean flamingo lives in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia.

32. Of all the flamingo species, only the Andean flamingo has yellow legs.

33. The Andean flamingo population is in decline due to loss of habitat and environmental quality.

34. Not only do flamingos eat sand and mud from the water, they also do not breathe during the meal.

35. Flamingos lay one egg at a time. Both females and males incubate it in turn. The chick that appears after 30 days is called a chick. At first it has a gray or White color, which does not change until two years.

flamingo chick

36. In appearance, the flamingo chick is not much different from the cubs of other birds. Even his beak is the most ordinary, not curved.

37. Flamingo chicks are capricious in food. Meat, fish or insects are not suitable for them - all that other birds feed their offspring with. Yes, and they cannot extract plankton, because their beaks are straight from birth. A proud bend is planned only at the age of two weeks, but before that, and after - for two whole months - the parents feed the babies. Like pigeons, they produce a liquid secret - "bird's milk", only red. It is secreted by special glands lining the esophagus. It has a lot of fat, protein, mixed with blood and some plankton.

38. Milk is given not only by females, but also by males, but the most interesting thing is that its production is controlled by the same hormone as in all mammals, including humans.

39. There is only one chick in each flamingo family, but the birds take care of all the children living in the colony. In this they are similar to penguins: flamingos also have "kindergartens", where chicks, under the supervision of on-duty educators, spend all the time while their parents get food. In such a group there can be up to 200 chicks, but any parent quickly finds his child by voice.

40. A flock of flamingos can fly at speeds of up to 35 miles (about 56 km) per hour.

41. Flamingos create pairs during the mating season, but find other partners the next season.

42. A female and a male build a nest together. The nest is usually built from mud and has a height of about 0.3 meters. The height allows you to protect it from floods and a very heated surface of the earth.

43. The female lays only one egg per season, which is guarded by both parents. After the chick has hatched, both parents are also responsible for it and feed it.

44. Hatched chicks have gray feathers, a pink beak and legs. They do not acquire the characteristic pink feather coloration until 2 years of age.

45. Flamingos cannot be confused with any other bird due to the peculiarities of the body structure and the amazing color of the plumage. These are rather large birds (height 120-145 cm, weight 2100-4100 g, wingspan 149-165 cm), and females are smaller than males and have shorter legs. The head of a flamingo is small, the beak is massive and in the middle part it is steeply (knee-shaped) bent down.

46. ​​In East Africa, flamingos group in giant flocks - more than a million individuals, forming the largest flocks of birds on the planet.

47. Flamingos can cope even with extreme natural conditions, in which only a few other animal species survive. For example, they are found near very salty or alkaline lakes. This is due to the presence of a large population of crustaceans (such as brine shrimp) in highly saline water bodies, where fish do not live due to high salinity. Crustaceans are the main food of flamingos.

48. Flamingos have a habit of sleeping on one leg. They use this technique to save energy and keep warm.

49. The legs of flamingos are not covered with feathers, so they freeze in the wind, trying in turn to warm one or the other. In fact, their body is designed in such a way that the flamingo easily stands on one leg, keeps it straight, without using muscular strength.

50. Flamingos are omnivores: they eat both plants and meat. The mollusks and algae they harvest from water contain carotenes, a coloring matter that makes their feathers pink or orange.

A short post about flamingos will tell you about this amazingly beautiful bird. Also, information about flamingos will help you prepare for the lesson and deepen your knowledge in the field of biology.

Flamingo Message

The flamingo is a large bird with red or pink feathers, long legs and a long, slightly curved beak. The largest flamingo in the world is the Pink Flamingo, which reaches a height of 1.2-1.5 meters and weighs about 3.5 kilograms. The smallest flamingo is the Small Flamingo, which reaches a length of 0.8 meters and a weight of 2.5 kilograms. It is noteworthy that the Pink Flamingo has the palest feather coloring, while the Caribbean Flamingos are known for their bright, almost red feathers.

They come from an ancient family of birds. Their ancestors were similar to modern flamingos. Archaeological excavations have shown that these birds appeared on Earth a very long time ago. It is worth noting that flamingos are social animals. They live in groups. When they fly from place to place, but gather in flocks. They communicate with loud and piercing cries. Flamingos are flying birds, but in order to get off the ground, they need to scatter. In flight, they stretch their legs and long necks in a straight line.

What do flamingos eat?

Note that the pink color of flamingos directly depends on the food that the birds eat. What do you think flamingos eat? They eat shrimp and algae, since it is these foods that contain orange carotenoid pigments, which are transformed into red pigments during digestion.

When eating, flamingos lower their heads under water, draw in water with their beaks and sift the food they eat. Water exits through the beak. This is facilitated by small filters similar to hairs. In search of food, flamingos walk with their long legs along the bottom of the reservoir, wandering even to great depths. This is their main advantage over other bird species.

Flamingo way of life

During mating, pairs are created, but for one season. The female builds a nest together with the male. In the season, the male lays only one egg, which is "cared for" by both parents. After the chick hatches, they feed it together and are responsible for it. The nest is built from mud. It is up to 0.3 meters high. This protects it from the strongly heated surface of the earth and floods.

The chick has gray feathers, pink legs and a beak. Feathers acquire a characteristic pink color at the age of 2 years. The babies stay in the nest for 5-12 days. Their parents feed them a fatty substance that is produced in the upper part of their digestive tract. Then the chick begins to feed on its own.

Where do flamingos live?

Flamingos are native to South and North America, Asia and Africa. Archaeological excavations have shown that birds used to live in Australia and Europe. Life expectancy in the natural habitat is 20-30 years, and in captivity they live more than 30 years. They prefer to settle with small salt lakes, on shallows, and near estuaries, in coastal lagoons.

flamingo species

• Pink flamingos (Africa, southern Europe, southwestern Asia).
• Lesser flamingos (Africa, northern Indian subcontinent).
• Chilean flamingos (Southwestern South America).
• Caribbean flamingos (Caribbean, northern South America, Yucatan Peninsula, Galapagos Islands).
• Andean flamingo (Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia).
• Flamingo James (Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia).

Why are flamingos listed in the Red Book?

Some bird species are on the verge of extinction. These are Lesser Flamingo, Chilean Flamingo, James Flamingo, Andean Flamingo. The decline in the number of flamingos is due to human activities.

• Flamingos form the largest flocks of birds on the planet. They number over a million individuals.
• Only Andean flamingos have yellow legs. In other species, they are pink.
• In ancient Rome, flamingo tongue was valued as a delicacy.
• Flamingo eggs are a recognized delicacy in the world.
• Scientists are still at a loss as to why flamingos stand on one leg. According to one version, they stretch their leg out of cold water to save heat and use less of it. According to another version, they rest in a position that is very comfortable for them.

We hope that the essay about flamingos helped you learn a lot about this large bird with pink feathers. And you can add a story about flamingos through the comment form below.

Description and features of flamingos

Beauty, grace, special charm and uniqueness... These are the words that most clearly describe the unique and amazing bird that lives on our planet — flamingos. Thin long legs and a graceful flexible neck make this bird a real model of a beauty contest. Look at flamingo photo and you will see for yourself.

flamingo bird the only representative of his squad, which is divided into certain species. flamingo species:

Flamingo James,

common flamingo,

red flamingo,

Andean Flamingo,

small flamingo,

Chilean flamingo.

These types of birds make up the entire flamingo population. Appearance birds largely depends on the genus to which it belongs. The smallest of the flamingos is the lesser flamingo. His height is about 90 centimeters, and adult flamingo weight reaches almost 2 kilograms.

The largest of the flamingos is considered pink flamingo, it is about twice as heavy as a small flamingo, its weight reaches about 4 kilograms, and flamingo growth is about 1.3 meters. The males are usually slightly larger than the females.

Characteristic features flamingos are their long legs, especially the tarsus. The fingers, which are directed forward, are interconnected by a swimming membrane, which is quite well developed. The rear finger is small and its insertion is slightly higher than the rest of the fingers.

It has been observed that birds very often stand on one leg, the reason for this behavior, according to scientists, is in thermoregulation. Birds stand for hours in cold water, in order to reduce heat loss at least a little, they raise one paw up so that there is no contact with water and heat exchange.

Flamingos have a massive large beak, which is bent in the middle almost at a right angle, and the top of the beak looks down. Flamingos have special horny plates that form a kind of filter so that birds can excrete food from the water.

The structure of the body and muscles are very similar to the structure of the stork. The graceful long neck has 19 vertebrae, the last of which is part of the back of the bone. Pneumaticity of the skeleton as a whole is quite well developed.

flamingo color may vary from white to red. A special pigment, astaxanthin, is responsible for the coloring of plumage in flamingos, which is somewhat similar to the red pigment of crustaceans. The color of young flamingo birds is usually brown, but after molting it becomes the same as in adults. Flamingo feathers are quite loose. An interesting fact is that during molting, primary flight feathers, of which flamingos have 12 pieces, fall out simultaneously and the bird loses its ability to fly for up to 20 days.

The type of flight in flamingos is quite active, the birds often flap their relatively short wings. When flying, flamingos stretch their long neck forward, they also keep their long legs extended during the entire flight. Until the moment of separation from the ground, flamingos make a long run at the start, and then rise into the air.

The nature and lifestyle of flamingos

The habitat of flamingos is quite wide. These delightful birds live in the east and west of Africa, in India, as well as in areas of Asia Minor. Europe is also the habitat of flamingos. The south of Spain, Sardinia and France are the usual residence of these birds. South and Central America, Florida are also attractive for bird life.

Flamingos settle on the shores of lagoons and small reservoirs. They choose coasts with great length, as they live in colonies. In one flock there can be up to hundreds of thousands of individuals. Flamingos tolerate both low and high temperatures well, so they can even settle on the shore of a mountain lake. Reservoirs are always chosen by birds with salt water, in which there are no fish, but many crustaceans live. To wash off the salt and quench their thirst, they fly to reservoirs or fresh water sources.

Currently, the number of flamingos is drastically reduced. Vigorous economic activity often leads to the fact that in some areas flamingos simply cannot settle. Sometimes, due to human activity, water bodies become shallow or completely dry up, and birds remain without a place to live.

Concentration harmful substances in water in many areas has increased significantly, and this leads to the fact that flamingos are forced to look for new places to live. And, of course, poaching, it is this type of activity that brings considerable losses. Flamingos are listed in the Red Books of many countries, they are under the protection of the law.

Reproduction and lifespan of flamingos

Flamingos are pair birds. They choose one partner for life. For flamingo offspring build unusual nests. The nest is built exclusively by the male. The nest is a cut-top column approximately 60 centimeters high and about 50 centimeters in diameter.

The basis material for building nestlings is silt, mud and small shells. The nest is specially built so high, since the water level should not exceed it so that the offspring do not suffer.

The female lays one to three eggs, they are quite large and white. The eggs are incubated for a month, this is the responsibility of both parents. Birds sit on eggs with their legs tucked in, and in order to rise, they first rest on their beak, and only then straighten up.

After the chicks are born, they are fed with special bird's milk, which is a mixture of esophageal juice and semi-digested food. This food is very nutritious, so it is quite enough for the full development of offspring.

Already a few days after birth, the chicks are strong enough, they can leave the nest and roam nearby. The ability to fly is manifested after 65 days of life. By this time, they can already fully eat on their own.

At this time, the chicks have the size of an adult, but differ in plumage color. Sexual maturity occurs after the third year of life, at the same age the bird acquires the full plumage of an adult bird. The life span of a flamingo is about 40 years, but it often happens that a bird does not live such a long life, but dies earlier for various reasons.

Flamingo food

Flamingos live on the banks of water bodies, so they are forced to get their food right there. Basically, flamingos feed themselves in shallow water. Due to the special structure of their beak, birds filter water and get their own food. Above the beak, these special birds have what looks like a float, which is why they can long time keep your head in top layer water.

The flamingo draws water into its mouth, closes it, after which filtration occurs, as a result, all the plankton that has come across is food for the bird. Flamingo eats a large number of crustaceans, mollusks and algae. In addition, flamingos also eat various larvae and worms.

It is also surprising that flamingo food They carry out around the clock, that is, they get their own food both during daylight hours and at night. Especially during the feeding of chicks, flamingos need complete and high-quality nutrition so as not to weaken and lose all their strength.

Ecology

Main:

Flamingo is a large bird with beautiful pink or red feathers, also known for its long legs and slightly curved long beak.

The largest of the flamingos Pink flamingo - reaches 1.2-1.5 meters in height and weighs a maximum of 3.5 kilograms. The smallest flamingos lesser flamingo - only a little over 0.8 meters in length, its average weight is 2.5 kilograms.

Pink flamingos have the palest feather colors when caribbean flamingos famous for their bright pink, almost red feathers.

Flamingos come from an ancient family of birds, their ancestors, similar to modern views, lived on the planet already 30 million years ago, according to Smithsonian National Zoo.

Distinctive pink color flamingos depend on the food they eat. They feed on algae and shrimp, which contain pigments. carotenoids(it is these pigments that give the orange its orange color), which turn into red pigments during digestion.

When eating, flamingos lower their heads under water, draw in water with their beaks, sifting through the nutritious foods that they eat, and the water comes out through the upper beak. Tiny, hair-like filters help weed out food and release water. One study showed that a special float that supports the bird's head allows it to feed by turning its head upside down and keeping it on the surface of the water.

The long legs of flamingos help them to walk along the bottom even at relatively great depths in search of food, which gives them some advantages over other birds.

Flamingos are social birds that live in groups of various sizes. They gather in flocks when they fly from place to place, and also prefer to stay in groups when they are on the ground. Flamingos also have loud and piercing cries.

These birds can fly, but they need a short run to get off the ground. During the flight, they stretch their long necks and legs in one straight line.

Flamingos create pairs during the mating season, but find other partners the next season. The female and male build a nest together. The female lays only one egg per season, which is guarded by both parents. After the chick has hatched, both parents are also responsible for it and feed it.

The nest is usually built from mud and has a height of about 0.3 meters. The height allows you to protect it from floods and a very heated surface of the earth. After hatching, the chick has gray feathers, a pink beak, and legs. They do not acquire the characteristic pink feather coloration until 2 years of age.

After hatching, flamingo chicks remain in the nest for 5-12 days, they are fed a fatty substance with nutrients that is produced in the upper parts of the parent's digestive tract. When the chick grows up, it begins to feed on its own along with the main group of birds in the so-called "crèche".

Flamingos have only a few natural enemies. In the wild, they live up to the age of 20-30 years, in captivity they live more than 30 years.

Habitats:

Flamingos are native to North and South America, Africa and Asia. Fossils show that they were previously distributed over much larger areas, including North America, Europe, and Australia.

pink flamingos They live in Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia. small flamingos found in Africa and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Chilean flamingos found in southwestern South America. caribbean flamingos can be found in the Caribbean, in the north of South America, in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and the Galapagos Islands. In Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina live Andean flamingo and Flamingo James.

These birds prefer to live near salty shallow lakes, in coastal lagoons, on shallows and near estuaries.

Guard status:

Least concern: Pink flamingo, Caribbean flamingo

Near Threatened: Chilean Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, James Flamingo

Vulnerable: Andean flamingo

The Andean flamingo population is in decline due to loss of habitat and environmental quality.

In East Africa, flamingos cluster in gigantic flocks of over a million individuals, forming the largest flocks of birds on the planet.

Of all the flamingo species, only the Andean flamingo has yellow legs.

The ancient Romans highly valued flamingo tongue as a delicacy. Also, flamingos eat eggs in different parts of the world.

It is still not exactly clear why flamingos stand on one leg. According to one version, they pull one leg out of the cold water, which helps them save heat. During rest, they often bend one leg, which seems very comfortable for them.