Flamingos
Flamingos are very social birds that like to live in groups of different sizes, from a few pair to sometimes thousands or tens of thousands.
Just imagine how cool it would be to see that many flamingos as they demonstrate their displays of head-flagging, wing salutes, twist-preening, and marching.
The marches are really impressive, with the large, tightly packed flock walking together one way, and then switching direction abruptly. All for one and one for all!
Flamingos live in lagoons or shallow lakes. Their beak is called the bill. With its bill, the bird sucks up water and mud and pumps it up at the sides where the filters are; chopping shrimps, algae and other small water creatures for the flamingo to eat. Basically flamingos eat their food up side down. How cool is that!
Have you heard the expression “You are what you eat”? Well, the flamingo’s bright colour comes from the food it eats. Some foods have colours called pigments that are passed on, to the animal that eats them. These are the pigments that turn the flamingo’s feather pinkish orange.
Ms. Melissa Bonello
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