Wing salute: Showing off the contrasting colors with the tail cocked and the neck outstretched.

Head-flagging: Stretching the neck with head up high and rhythmically turning the head from side to side. Their numbers add to the impressiveness of ritualized flamingo displays the purpose of these displays is to stimulate hormone production and ensure that as many birds as possible will breed. The flamingos follow each other closely, using a variety of formations that help them take advantage of the wind currents.įlamingos are social birds that live in groups of varying sizes, from a few pairs to sometimes thousands or tens of thousands. And, as with most other flamingo activities, they usually fly together in large flocks. When flying, flamingos flap their wings fairly rapidly and almost continuously. Their outstretched wings showcase the pretty black and red (or pink) coloration that, with slight variations, is shared by all flamingo species.

In flight, flamingos are quite distinctive, with their long necks stretched out in front and the equally long legs trailing behind. This speed is not related to the ground but rather to the air, so they usually take off facing into the wind. In order to fly, flamingos need to run a few paces to gather speed. We eat carotenoids, too, whenever we munch on carrots, beets, and certain other veggies, but not enough to turn us orange! American flamingos, a subspecies of greater flamingo, are the brightest, showing their true colors of red, pink, or orange on their legs, bills, and faces. The flamingo’s pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans the birds eat.

Today, images of flamingos are found in literature (Alice used them as croquet mallets in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll), and immortalized as plastic lawn ornaments! An accurate cave painting of a flamingo, found in the south of Spain, dates back to 5,000 B.C. These beauties have long fascinated people. Think pink-and orange? With their pink and crimson plumage, long legs and necks, and strongly hooked bills, flamingos cannot be mistaken for any other type of bird.

Flamingo plant