Animal: Flamingo

Scientific Name: Numerous, depending on the type and species

Animal Type: Bird

Habitats: Island and Wetland, River and Lakes

The Flamingo:

A Flamingo is a striking pink bird frequently found standing on one leg.

Physical Characteristics:

It is not fully known why flamingos stand on one leg. One common theory is that tucking one leg beneath the body may conserve body heat, but this has not been proven. It is often suggested that this is done in part to keep the legs from getting wet, in addition to conserving energy. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

A flamingo that is well-fed and healthy is vibrantly coloured bright pink and is more desirable as a mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or suffering from a lack of food.

Food Chain:

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The flamingo's characteristic pink colouring is caused by the Beta carotene in their diet. The source of this varies by species, but shrimp and blue-green algae are common sources; zoo-fed flamingos may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin, which is often also given to farmed salmon.

Habitat features:

Flamingso like to be near water, so islands and wetlands are popular. They are found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, but are more numerous in the latter.