Learning that flamingo is a bird, many are surprised. This word is very beautiful. But when you see this bird with your own eyes, you stop doubting that this name suits her. The word flamingo means red feather. And it is right. After all, representatives of this family have red or bright pink color feathers with a black border around the edges, which is visible only at the time of flight.
What does it look like?
Flamingo is a bird, a brief description of which you will find in this article. Seeing her once, you can not confuse her with any other. These birds have a long neck and legs. Moreover, the neck often gets tired, and they put their head on the body to give rest to the numb muscles. The large beak consists of keratinized particles. It is bent so that it is convenient for them to catch food from the water. A feature of the structure of the oral apparatus of flamingos is that the upper jaw is mobile, and not the lower one. Flamingo is a bird that reaches a height of 90 to 135 cm and has a wingspan of 140-165 centimeters. Males are larger than females. Unforgettable impression leaves coloring feathers. Especially beautiful is pink flamingo. A bird to which songs and poems are even dedicated. The color of her feathers depends on the food she eats. The pink color is provided by carotenoids contained in small crustaceans. The more a bird eats them, the brighter its color will be.
How to eat?
The structure of flamingos is specially adapted for the lifestyle that the bird leads. Long legs with membranes rake the bottom of the shallow water from which it feeds. A hard beak filters the water, for this there are bone protrusions on its edges. Flamingo is a bird that eats very small food, and in order not to swallow a large amount of water, it is filtering, as a result of which the water collected in the beak is poured out and the food remains. To get food, she completely lowers her head into the water. Interestingly, the flamingo language was eaten in ancient Rome. The dish from it was considered a delicacy. But this muscular organ helps birds pump water into their mouths. What do flamingos eat? The answer is simple - everything that gets into their beak. After all, they do not have the opportunity to spit out what they do not like. Therefore, in their stomachs they find silt, small fish, small crustaceans, and mollusks. Flamingo is a bird that lives in a team. But during the meal she will violently defend her territory.
Secret revealed
Representatives of the flamingo family have other behavioral features. For example, they like to stand on one leg. Moreover, it is noted that they do this mainly in water. Scientists estimate that the period of standing on one leg can be about one hour. Surely, you wondered why this position attracts waterfowl. The thing is that in this way birds improve their thermoregulation. In simple terms, they press their paw to keep warm. It’s not so easy to stand in cold water for a long time. They fly, with their legs stretched out over their entire length, and in flight they make sounds similar to a goose gaggle. Flamingo is a beautiful bird. A flock of these creatures, consisting of thousands of individuals, looks wonderful. But flamingos come together not to show off.
Time to breed
In a large colony it is easier to warn each other about the appearance of a predator and find a life partner. Interestingly, in a large flock, birds breed better. Flamingos attract a female through ritual movement. If the female became interested, she begins to repeat the movements for the male. Flamingos can be considered a model of fidelity. After all, these birds often create one pair for life and raise chicks together. During mating, adults gather near a source of fresh water. They begin their ritual movements, trying to show the size and beauty of the plumage. Flamingos spread and stretch their wings and try to touch with their beaks and wing tips other closely standing birds. Scientists have noticed that both males and females do this. Moreover, the observer from the side will not be able to determine the gender of the birds. After all, they have the same color. Females repeat movements for males. If the couple liked each other, then the female begins to move away from the team, continuing to make movements that lure the male. The male will begin to sway and follow his lady of the heart to continue the race.
My house
Flamingos can breed at any time of the year. Although they prefer to do it in early summer. During this period, the water is warmer, and there are more opportunities to create a nest and get food. These birds build a nest from clay. It is a hill with a depression in the middle into which the female will lay an egg. In order to make a litter, flamingos use branches, feathers and leaves. The female lays one egg of milky white color. Both partners engage in incubation. When one of them sits on a nest, the other earns food for himself. Chicks are born in 28-32 days. And although furry babies are born with their eyes open, they cannot feed themselves and are not able to fly. In the nest, the chicks are 5-8 days. Toddlers come in contact with “children” from other nests. Parents distinguish their offspring by the sounds they make. This is provided by an interesting natural mechanism. The fact is that little birds begin to make sounds, while still in the egg. Parents get used to them and recognize the kids when they are born.
This is not a myth.
But the chicks recognize their parents by the voice they hear at a distance of 100 meters. They approach them, having caught a special call. It is not customary for flamingos to feed alien chicks. If parents do not do this, then the baby will die of hunger. It turns out that bird milk is not fiction. It is with this drink that flamingos of their chicks are fed. Moreover, it is very similar in composition to the human, and is produced thanks to the hormone prolactin. Only the chicks, of course, do not eat like the young mammals. Bird's milk is secreted from a special nutritious secret found in the beak of an adult bird. It is noteworthy that it is not white, but red. Together with him, the first pigments get into the chick's body, which color its feathers in pink.
Must be saved
Yes, flamingo is a bird. The Red Book about which, unfortunately, already has an entry on its pages. Nowadays, there is a struggle to preserve them. From whom should these creatures be protected? In their natural habitat, they have enemies - predators, which not only prey on adults, but also destroy their eggs. And this is not only foxes, badgers, hyenas, baboons, wild boars, but also Turkish vultures, and yellow gulls. Also the enemy of flamingos is man. He eats the eggs and meat of these beautiful birds. And also uses feathers that have an unusual color.
