The flamingo has a pink color to its feathers.
Flamingos are colorful wading birds with a global distribution, existing in the New World as well as Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Most species have a pink color to their plumage, which comes from their diet. The pigment contained in certain algae and crustaceans turn the feathers pink, which is a trademark of the flamingo. The flamingo has certain adaptations that allow it to live in the ecosystems it inhabits.
Size
The five species of flamingo found around the world differ in size, with the greater flamingo the tallest at up to 51 inches and the lesser flamingo the shortest, with the average height of these birds at 31.5 inches. The greater flamingo can weigh 7.7 lbs. and the lesser flamingo is typically 2 lbs. less. The wingspan of the greater flamingo can fall between 55 and 65 inches; the lesser flamingo has wingspans from 37 to 39 inches.
Geography
The Chilean flamingo lives in South American nations like Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The James' flamingo has the smallest geographic distribution of all flamingos, living in the southern part of Peru, northern Chile, northwest Argentina and western sections of Bolivia. The Andean flamingo has a similar, but somewhat larger range. The lesser flamingo populates many sections of Africa and exists in India and Europe as far to the north as Spain. The Middle East, Africa, India, northern Europe and the Mediterranean are locations where you may find the greater flamingo.
Habitats
Large lakes with alkaline characteristics and saline lakes are the kinds of habitats that attract flamingos. These bodies of water typically lack vegetation and are home to the foods like algae, shrimp, flies and diatoms that sustain the flamingo. Flamingos also inhabit tidal flats, sand-covered islands and mangrove swamps. The flamingo usually will not migrate unless the lakes in high altitudes where they live freeze or water levels rise and make finding food problematic.
Features
The flamingo strains its food from the water with its bill.
The flamingo has long legs that permit the bird to wade into shallow water in search of a meal. The bill of the flamingo has a design that allows it to strain the water from the food, keeping the food in its bill with the help of plates called lamellae. The flamingo sticks its head in the water upside down and takes in water as well as mud, before straining out the edible particles.
Facts
Flamingos are long-lived birds, with some living as long as 50 years and the average lifespan between 20 and 30 years. The largest of all bird flocks in the world are the over one million lesser flamingos that can gather in parts of East Africa. The flamingo will rest while standing on one leg. The ankle of a flamingo exists halfway up the bird's leg. The adult flamingo has yellow eyes, but the young birds' eyes are grey for the first 12 months of their lives.
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