They are known as Phoenicopterus and are birds found in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. There are only six species of them, which can be found in hot areas of the Caribbean, South America, Africa, part of the Middle East and in some parts of Europe. They have holorrino demognate skull, has 16 to 20 cervical vertebrae and anisodactyl feet. These birds are beautiful and slender, between 80 cm and 1.40 cm long. A special feature is the neck and long legs.
The bill is adapted to rumma into the mud, so its curvature pronounced downwards. These species are pink, although it can be differentiated by the following: if it is light pink to white they are European flamingos and if they are from strong pink to salmon they are flamingos of the Caribbean. These flamingos need large areas of shallow water. In its natural habitat, a flamingo can live between 20 and 30 years. They feed on crustaceans and algae.
They are a very sociable species, forming colonies ranging from a few dozen to thousands during the breeding season. Its courtship flight is characteristic with thousands of flamingos raising their wings, turning their heads and bending their necks in a spectacular sync. This wonderful deployment ensures that all members of the colony are ready to mate at the same time. (You may be interested: Dangerous animals in Australia)
The pairs of flamingos are involved in the construction of the nests, stacking small portions of mud in the form of a soft cone. They lay a single egg that is incubated by both parents for 27 to 31 days. About six to eight days after hatching the chicks leave the nest and cluster in large adult-monitored nurseries for 9 to 13 weeks. These chicks feed their dicks milk. When these crias are born they are white, but when they become adults they take their characteristic pink color. But why do they have this color? .
Characteristic color is due to their diet, as we had already named, these wonderful animals eat shrimp, plankton, algae and crustaceans. This diet causes a large amount of a chemical compound called cantaxanthin to exist in your body.
Cantaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment present in various elements of nature such as carrot or papaya. This substance is broken down in the liver of the flamingo and disperses towards the feathers, legs and beak of this spectacular animal.
This is why zoo flamingos tend to lose the pink color of their body because of their diet. Because of this, several zoos took as their measure to add this chemical in the water and food so that they do not lose their characteristic color. If you’ve seen any flamingos tell us about your experience.
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