Flamingo habitat. Pink flamingo. The lifestyle and habitat of the pink flamingo. In nature, there are such types of flamingos as

Flamingos are one of the most amazing and controversial birds. On the one hand, their body is disproportionate: a short torso, a very long neck, incredibly thin legs, a small head and a curved beak are somehow disproportionate to each other. On the other hand, such disproportion is surprisingly harmonious and flamingos have become synonymous with grace and sophisticated beauty.

Red or Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber).

At first glance, flamingos in their appearance resemble legged birds - storks, herons, cranes - but they are not related to any of the listed species. The closest relatives of flamingos are ... banal geese. Previously, flamingos were even classified as an Anseriformes, but then they were separated into a separate Flamingos order, which has only 6 species. All representatives of the detachment are medium-sized birds, weighing several kilograms. A distinctive feature of flamingos are their long legs and neck, which are necessary for moving through the shallow waters of reservoirs. The paws of flamingos are clawed like those of a goose. The large beak of a flamingo, as if broken in the middle, is also similar to a goose, its edges are dotted with small teeth. These cloves form a filtering apparatus with which flamingos get food.

The fringed edge of the flamingo's beak works like a whalebone.

All types of flamingos have a similar coloration from pale pink to deep scarlet. Flamingos are typical inhabitants of the tropics, but some species can tolerate the cold. So, South American species of flamingos inhabit the highlands of the Andes, where frosts are not uncommon. Pink, or common flamingos live in the subtropical and even in the south of the temperate zone; in the northern part of the range, these birds are migratory. There are cases when flamingos accidentally flew even to the territory of Estonia during flights. All species of flamingos live along the banks of shallow water bodies, and flamingos prefer water bodies with a high salt content. Such habits are due to the nature of nutrition. Flamingos feed on small crustaceans and microscopic algae, rich in coloring substances - carotenoids. These organisms are not found in fresh water, therefore, in search of food, flamingos are forced to populate extreme places. In some African lakes inhabited by flamingos, the water is so alkaline that it can literally corrode living flesh. Flamingos survive in such reservoirs thanks to the dense skin that covers the legs of birds, but with the slightest damage to it, inflammation occurs, which can end badly for the bird. By the way, flamingos owe these crustaceans their magnificent plumage color: pigments accumulate in feathers and give them a pink or red tint. When kept in a zoo, flamingos eventually lose their pigment and turn white. To keep their attractive appearance, coloring components, such as red pepper, are added to the bird feed. Such "artificial" birds can be recognized by the red-orange hue of feathers.

All flamingos are flocking birds living in large flocks of several thousand individuals. In search of food, flamingos gather in a dense flock and walk together in shallow water, churning the water with their paws. At the same time, they lower their beak into the water and filter edible living creatures through it.

Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) feed on African Lake Nakuru.

Flamingos sleep right in shallow water, standing in the water. Flamingos fly well, but takeoff (like many goose birds) is associated with some difficulties.

First, flamingos accelerate by running, then with a flap of their wings they rise into the air, continuing to sort through their paws for some time by inertia. Flamingos fly with outstretched neck and legs.

Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) in flight.

The nature of these birds is peaceful, they rarely fight with each other. During the mating season, flamingos arrange a collective "wedding" dance. They huddle together in a large group and mince through the shallow water with small steps, accompanying the procession with a deep chuckle.

The mating dance of the rarest of all species, the James flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi).

Flamingos also nest together at a distance of 0.5 -1 m from each other, choosing hard-to-reach places for this - islands, marshy shores and shallows. Flamingo nests look very unusual - these are cone-shaped turrets up to 70 cm high, molded from silt and mud.

Flamingos in the nest.

At the top of such a cabinet is a tray with eggs. Such bird nests are built to protect the masonry from the caustic water of salt lakes. Flamingos are not very prolific and they have only 1-3 eggs in one clutch. Both parents take turns incubating them for a month. Flamingo chicks look even more amazing. In the first days of life, they look like adopted children because they do not look like their parents at all. The chicks are covered with white fluff, their legs are short, and their beak is completely straight! How can one not remember about the relationship with geese! Chicks are born quite developed, but the first days sit in the nest. Parents feed them with a kind of "bird's milk" - a special burp from the goiter of a pale pink color.

Flamingo feeding a chick.

After two weeks, the beaks of the chicks begin to bend and they gradually switch to self-feeding, but for a long time they are under the supervision of adults. At the same time, the chicks gather in a herd, and several adult birds guard them, after a while the “watchmen on duty” change. For a long time, young animals have to walk like “ugly ducklings” with dirty gray plumage, because flamingos reach sexual maturity only by 3-5 years.

Young flamingo.

The life of a flamingo is full of dangers. Due to the peculiarities of their physiology, these birds often get injured, wounded flamingos in nature are almost doomed. Flamingos are hunted by almost all local predators - from hyenas and baboons to kites and foxes. Only a man, by some miracle, bypassed this bird with his gastronomic gaze. But people have always been attracted by the appearance of these birds, because of their beauty, all zoos sought to have them, but flamingos never became ordinary inhabitants of poultry houses. These near-water birds need to be kept in special conditions, and breeding is possible only when kept in large groups.

Until recently, flamingos were classified as a stork, but scientists have come to the conclusion that flamingos should be placed in a separate order - flamingos.

2. The birds got their name from the Latin word flamenco - “fire”, which indicates their bright color.

3. Nowadays, 6 species of flamingos live on Earth: small, ordinary or pink, Caribbean or red, Chilean, James flamingo and Andean flamingo.

4. Flamingos prefer to live near salty shallow lakes, in coastal lagoons, on shallows and near estuaries.

5. Flamingos belong to one of the oldest bird families. Fossils of flamingos closest to modern forms date back to 30 million years ago, while fossils of more primitive species have been found that are over 50 million years old. The fossils were found in places where flamingos are no longer seen today - parts of Europe, North America and Australia. This indicates that they had a much wider range in the past.

Pink flamingo

6. The pink flamingo is the most common type of flamingo. Common, or pink flamingos live in Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia. They are the largest of the flamingos. Pink flamingo reaches 1.2-1.5 meters in height and weighs up to 4 kilograms.

7. It is also the only species of flamingo that lives on the territory of the former Soviet Union in Kazakhstan (Lake Tengiz, Lake Chelkartengiz and Lake Ashchitastysor).

8. In Europe, flamingos nest in the Camargue Nature Reserve, at the mouth of the Rhone River (Southern France), as well as in Las Marismas in Southern Spain. In Africa, the bird nests on the lakes of Morocco, Southern Tunisia, Northern Mauritania, Kenya, the Cape Verde Islands, and the south of the continent. It also lives on the lakes of Southern Afghanistan (at an altitude of up to 3000 m) and North-Western India (Kach), nested in Sri Lanka not so long ago.

9. In Russia, flamingos do not nest, but are regularly observed on migrations - at the mouth of the Volga River, in Dagestan, Kalmykia, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. It also flies to the south of Siberia in the Altai Territory, Tyumen, Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk regions, Buryatia, Irkutsk region, Yakutia, Primorye, Urals. Flamingos flying through Russia winter in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

10. It is estimated that an ordinary flamingo eats up to a quarter of its own weight in food per day. A colony of half a million pink flamingos in India consumes approximately 145 tons of food per day.

lesser flamingo

11. The lesser flamingo lives in Africa and the northern parts of India and is the smallest of the flamingos. The small flamingo is only a little over 0.8 meters long and weighs an average of 2.5 kilograms.

12. Pink flamingos have the palest feather colors, while Caribbean flamingos are famous for their bright pink, almost red feathers.

13. Pink or red coloring of flamingo plumage is given by lipochrome dyes, which birds receive with food.

14. Flamingos are social birds that live in groups of various sizes. They gather in flocks when they fly from place to place, and also prefer to stay in groups when they are on the ground.

15. When eating, flamingos lower their heads under water, draw in water with their beaks, sifting through the nutritious foods they eat, and the water comes out through the beak. Tiny, hair-like filters help weed out food and release water. One study showed that a special float that supports the bird's head allows it to feed by turning its head upside down and keeping it on the surface of the water.

Caribbean (red) flamingo

16. Caribbean flamingos can be found in the Caribbean, northern South America, the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and the Galapagos Islands.

17. The long legs of flamingos help them to walk along the bottom even at relatively great depths in search of food, which gives them some advantages over other birds.

18. The ancient Romans highly valued flamingo tongue as a delicacy. Also, flamingos eat meat and eggs in different parts of the world.

19. Flamingos can also be found on high mountain lakes. In addition, they are able to tolerate very large temperature fluctuations.

20. In the family way of life of flamingos, equality reigns. Here, both the male and the female are involved in the process of bearing, and then raising the chicks. Male flamingos incubate the eggs laid by the female along with their girlfriend.

Chilean flamingo

21. Chilean flamingos are found in the southwest of South America.

22. Flamingos have a massive, downward-curving beak, which has a movable lower part, which distinguishes it from other birds.

23. Males tend to be larger than females and have much longer legs.

24. The average age of flamingos is about 30 years old. In reserves and zoos, these birds live longer than in the wild.

25. Flamingos have loud and shrill cries.

Flamingo James

26. Flamingos James live only in South America: in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

27. These birds can fly, but in order to get off the ground, they need a short run. During the flight, they stretch their long necks and legs in one straight line.

28. In danger, flamingos take off, and it is difficult for a predator to choose a certain prey from them, especially since the primary feathers on the wings are always black, and when flying they make it difficult to focus on the prey.

29. Flamingos can float well, though not very deep. However, it is almost impossible to catch them doing this - they prefer to walk, swaying smoothly from side to side, rather than bathe their feathers in the water.

30. One can safely say about graceful flamingos that they go from one extreme to another. So, these unusual and beautiful birds live either in hot volcanic lakes or in icy water.

Andean flamingo

31. The Andean flamingo lives in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia.

32. Of all the flamingo species, only the Andean flamingo has yellow legs.

33. The Andean flamingo population is in decline due to loss of habitat and environmental quality.

34. Not only do flamingos eat sand and mud from the water, they also do not breathe during the meal.

35. Flamingos lay one egg at a time. Both females and males incubate it in turn. The chick that appears after 30 days is called a chick. At first, it has a gray or white color, which does not change until two years.

flamingo chick

36. In appearance, the flamingo chick is not much different from the cubs of other birds. Even his beak is the most ordinary, not curved.

37. Flamingo chicks are capricious in food. Meat, fish or insects are not suitable for them - all that other birds feed their offspring with. Yes, and they cannot extract plankton, because their beaks are straight from birth. A proud bend is planned only at the age of two weeks, but before that, and after - for two whole months - the parents feed the babies. Like pigeons, they produce a liquid secret - "bird's milk", only red. It is secreted by special glands lining the esophagus. It has a lot of fat, protein, mixed with blood and some plankton.

38. Milk is given not only by females, but also by males, but the most interesting thing is that its production is controlled by the same hormone as in all mammals, including humans.

39. There is only one chick in each flamingo family, but the birds take care of all the children living in the colony. In this they are similar to penguins: flamingos also have "kindergartens", where chicks, under the supervision of on-duty educators, spend all the time while their parents get food. In such a group there can be up to 200 chicks, but any parent quickly finds his child by voice.

40. A flock of flamingos can fly at speeds of up to 35 miles (about 56 km) per hour.

41. Flamingos create pairs during the mating season, but find other partners the next season.

42. A female and a male build a nest together. The nest is usually built from mud and has a height of about 0.3 meters. The height allows you to protect it from floods and a very heated surface of the earth.

43. The female lays only one egg per season, which is guarded by both parents. After the chick has hatched, both parents are also responsible for it and feed it.

44. Hatched chicks have gray feathers, a pink beak and legs. They do not acquire the characteristic pink feather coloration until 2 years of age.

45. Flamingos cannot be confused with any other bird due to the peculiarities of the body structure and the amazing color of the plumage. These are rather large birds (height 120-145 cm, weight 2100-4100 g, wingspan 149-165 cm), and females are smaller than males and have shorter legs. The head of a flamingo is small, the beak is massive and in the middle part it is steeply (knee-shaped) bent down.

46. ​​In East Africa, flamingos group in giant flocks - more than a million individuals, forming the largest flocks of birds on the planet.

47. Flamingos can cope even with extreme natural conditions, in which only a few other animal species survive. For example, they are found near very salty or alkaline lakes. This is due to the presence of a large population of crustaceans (such as brine shrimp) in highly saline water bodies, where fish do not live due to high salinity. Crustaceans are the main food of flamingos.

48. Flamingos have a habit of sleeping on one leg. They use this technique to save energy and keep warm.

49. The legs of flamingos are not covered with feathers, so they freeze in the wind, trying in turn to warm one or the other. In fact, their body is designed in such a way that the flamingo easily stands on one leg, keeps it straight, without using muscular strength.

50. Flamingos are omnivores: they eat both plants and meat. The mollusks and algae they harvest from water contain carotenes, a coloring matter that makes their feathers pink or orange.

“This is a wonderful bird,” – this is how the Russian traveler Grigory Karelin, who studied the nature of Kazakhstan in the 19th century, spoke about the red-billed (flamingo). “In appearance, she is the same among birds as a camel among quadrupeds,” Karelin explained his thought.

Flamingo Description

Indeed, the appearance of the bird is remarkable - a large body, very high legs and neck, a characteristic curved beak and amazing pink plumage. The family Phoenicopteridae (flamingos) includes 4 species, united in 3 genera: some ornithologists believe that there are still five species. Two genera have long since died out.

The oldest remains of fossil flamingos were found in the UK. The smallest representatives of the family are small flamingos (weighing 2 kg and less than 1 m tall), and the most popular are Phoenicopterus ruber (common flamingos), growing up to 1.5 m and weighing 4–5 kg.

Appearance

Flamingo rightfully bears the title of not only the longest-legged, but also the longest-necked bird.. The flamingo has a small head, but a huge beak that is larger than it and curved downwards, in which (unlike most birds) it is not the mandible that moves, but the beak. The edges of the massive beak are equipped with horny plates and denticles, with the help of which the birds filter the slurry in order to get food.

This is interesting! Its neck (in relation to the size of the body) is longer and thinner than that of a swan, which is why the flamingo gets tired of holding it straight and periodically throws it on its back so that the muscles rest.

There are also horny plates on the upper surface of the fleshy thick tongue. In flamingos, the upper half of the lower leg is feathered, and the tarsus is almost three times as long as the latter. A developed swimming membrane is noticeable between the front fingers, and the back finger is very small or absent. The plumage is loose and soft. On the head there are non-feathered zones - rings around the eyes, chin and bridle. Wings of moderate length, wide, edged with black (not always).

The short tail consists of 12–16 tail feathers, where the middle pair is the longest. Not all types of flamingos are colored in shades of red (from soft pink to purple), sometimes it is off-white or gray.

Lipochromes, coloring pigments that enter the body with food, are responsible for coloring. The wingspan is 1.5 m. When molting, lasting a month, the flamingo loses plumage on its wings and becomes completely vulnerable, losing the ability to take off in danger.

Character and lifestyle

Flamingos are rather phlegmatic birds, roaming the shallow water from morning to night in search of food and occasionally resting. Between themselves, they communicate with the help of sounds reminiscent of the cackle of geese, only more bass and louder. At night, the voice of the flamingo is heard like a trumpet melody.

When threatened by a predator or a person in a boat, the flock first moves to the side and then rises into the air. True, acceleration is difficult - about five meters the bird runs through shallow water, flapping its wings, and already soaring, takes a few more “steps” along the water surface.

This is interesting! If you look at the flock from below, it seems that crosses are flying across the sky - in the air, the flamingo stretches its neck forward and straightens its long legs.

Flying flamingos are also compared to an electric garland, whose links either flash bright red or go out, showing the observer the dark colors of plumage. Flamingos, despite their exotic beauty, can live in conditions that oppress other animals, such as near salt/alkaline lakes.

There is no fish here, but many small crustaceans (brine shrimp) - the main food of flamingos. The dense skin on the legs and visits to fresh water bodies, where flamingos wash off salt and quench their thirst, save the birds from the aggressive environment. In addition, they are not

How long does a flamingo live

According to ornithologists, in the wild, birds live up to 30-40 years. In captivity, life expectancy is almost doubled. They say that in one of the reserves there is a flamingo that has celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Standing on one leg

This know-how was not invented by flamingos - many long-legged birds (including storks) practice the one-legged stance to minimize heat loss in windy weather.

This is interesting! The fact that the bird quickly chills is to blame for its exorbitantly long legs, devoid of saving plumage almost to the top. That is why the flamingo is forced to tighten and warm one leg or the other.

From the side, the pose seems extremely uncomfortable, but the flamingo itself does not feel discomfort at all. The supporting limb remains extended without the application of any muscular force, as it does not bend due to a special anatomical adaptation.

The same mechanism works when a flamingo perches on a branch: the tendons on bent legs are stretched and force the fingers to tightly wrap around the branch. If the bird falls asleep, the "grip" is not weakened, preventing it from falling from the tree.

Range, habitats

Flamingos are found predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions:

• Africa;
• Asia;
• America (Central and South);
• Southern Europe.

So, several extensive colonies of the common flamingo are seen in the south of France, Spain and Sardinia. Despite the fact that bird colonies often number hundreds of thousands of flamingos, none of the species can boast of a continuous range. Nesting occurs scattered, in areas sometimes separated by thousands of kilometers from each other..

Flamingos usually settle along the shores of shallow salty reservoirs or on sea shallows, trying to stay in open landscapes. They nest both on high mountain lakes (Andes) and on plains (Kazakhstan). Birds generally lead a sedentary (rarely wandering) lifestyle. Only populations of common flamingos that live in northern countries migrate.

Flamingo Diet

The peaceful disposition of flamingos is spoiled when the birds have to fight for food. At this moment, good-neighborly relations cease, turning into a division of abundant territories.

The diet of flamingos consists of such organisms and plants as:

• small crustaceans;
• shellfish;
• insect larvae;
• water worms;
• algae, including diatoms.

The narrow food specialization is reflected in the device of the beak: its upper part is equipped with a float that supports the head in the water.

The stages of nutrition rapidly alternate and look like this:

1. Looking for plankton, the bird twists its head so that the upper beak is below.
2. The flamingo opens its beak to scoop up water and closes it.
3. Water is pushed by the tongue through the sieve, and the food is swallowed.

The gastronomic selectivity of flamingos is even more narrowed by individual species. So, James's flamingos eat flies, snails and diatoms. The lesser flamingo eats exclusively blue-green and diatoms, switching to rotifers and brine shrimp only when water bodies dry up.

This is interesting! By the way, the pink color of the plumage depends on the presence of red crustaceans containing carotenoids in the feed. The more crustaceans, the more intense the color.

Reproduction and offspring

Despite the rather late fertility (5–6 years), females are able to lay eggs as early as 2 years old.. When nesting, flamingo colonies grow to half a million birds, and the nests themselves are no more than 0.5–0.8 m apart from each other.

Nests (from silt, shell rock and mud) are not always built in shallow water, sometimes flamingos build them (from feathers, grass and pebbles) on rocky islands or lay their eggs directly in the sand without making depressions. The clutch contains 1–3 eggs (usually two), which are incubated by both parents for 30–32 days.

This is interesting! Flamingos sit on the nest with their legs tucked in. To stand up, the bird needs to tilt its head, rest its beak on the ground, and only then straighten its limbs.

Chicks are born with straight beaks, which begin to curve after 2 weeks, and after a couple of weeks the first fluff changes to a new one. “Already you drank our blood,” - perhaps it is the flamingos that feed them with milk, where 23% is parental blood, have the right to address this phrase to children.

Milk, comparable in nutritional value to cow's, is colored pink and is produced by special glands located in the esophagus of an adult bird. The mother feeds the brood with bird's milk for about two months, until the beak of the chicks is completely strong. As soon as the beak has grown and taken shape, the young flamingo begins to forage on its own.

By their 2.5 months, young flamingos become winged, growing to the size of adult birds, and fly away from their parental home. Flamingos are monogamous birds, changing pair only when their partner dies.

It is difficult to imagine a more amazing and unusual bird than a flamingo. The color of the plumage of different species can vary greatly from delicate pink, orange to rich red. In addition, attention is drawn to the long legs and unusual curved beak of the bird. Flamingos are famous for their grace and sophisticated beauty. It deserves to learn more about its habitats, breeding and feeding habits.

Description of graceful birds

The most common species is the common flamingo or, as it is also called, pink. The bird belongs to the flamingo order. The description of flamingos should begin with the fact that this species is the largest. The bird resembles a creature from the Garden of Eden. Despite the fact that she can most often be seen walking along the shore of a reservoir, she is an excellent swimmer. The unusual color of the flamingo is impossible not to notice. In adult males and females, the main plumage is pale pink, the wings are purplish red, and the flight feathers are black. The skin on long and thin legs also has a pink undertone. The bird has a large, as if broken in the middle, beak with a black tip.

When describing flamingos, it is impossible not to mention that they are somewhat similar to storks, cranes, herons. But they have no relationship with these birds. The closest relatives of flamingos are common geese. Previously, they were even part of the Anseriformes order. On average, a flamingo weighs several kilograms, has a webbing between its front toes.

The type of pink flamingo can be safely called exotic, due to the unique shade of plumage. The birds gracefully and gracefully hold their necks like a question mark. Very often you can see how these representatives of birds stand on one leg. In order not to freeze, they alternately draw in and hide one leg in their plumage. People find this position difficult and uncomfortable, but for them it is very simple.

Around the eyes of a pink flamingo, small red rings and a bridle are “painted”. The body is rounded, the tail is short. The bird is quite large, the length of the body is 120-130 cm. Adults can reach a mass of 4 kg. Each paw has four toes and three connecting membranes.

Why are flamingos so beautiful, what causes the pink color of their plumage? Such coloring in these birds is due to lipochromes (fat pigments or carotenes) that they receive with food. Flamingos eat red crustaceans, which are rich in carotene. Food is obtained by filtering water and silt with the help of a beak. In zoos, these birds are just as beautiful, because foods rich in carotene are specially added to their food: carrots, bell peppers, shellfish.

Flamingo habitats

Common flamingos can be found in different parts of the world. Many people can't wait to find out where flamingos live. They can be found in Africa, southwest Asia. This bird lives in southern Europe - in France, Sardinia, Spain. The places where flamingos live always attract tourists.

Birds can also be found in African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Kenya, the Cape Verde Islands. They also live in the south of Afghanistan, in the north-west of India, Sri Lanka. These birds also flaunt on several lakes of Kazakhstan.

Where do flamingos live in Russia? It is important to note that birds do not nest on the territory of the Russian Federation, but only sometimes migrate along the mouths of southern rivers. So, they can sometimes be seen on the Volga and next to other flowing reservoirs of the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. Sometimes they fly to Siberia, Yakutia, Primorye, the Urals, but only in the warm season. They go to winter in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran.

Flamingos are social birds, they live in colonies of various sizes. For flights, they gather in flocks, and already on the ground they unite in groups. Their favorite habitats are salt lakes, sea lagoons, estuaries, and shallow waters. Most often they roam in large groups in places with a muddy bottom. Some colonies of pink flamingos number hundreds of thousands of individuals.

These are sedentary birds, they wander only in order to find places for favorable living with enough food. Flights are made only by representatives of the northern populations.

Living conditions for flamingos vary from country to country. Birds are pretty hardy. Their favorite places are salty and alkaline lakes, where there are many crustaceans. Such reservoirs, as a rule, are located in the mountains. Birds stand all day in salt water and do not feel discomfort due to the dense skin on their legs. To quench their thirst, they sometimes fly to springs with fresh water. Flamingos sleep standing up in the water.

Nutrition

Where the flamingo lives is already clear to you, but what does this bird eat? The article has already mentioned small mollusks. Small crustaceans form the basis of the diet. Flamingos also eat worm larvae, insects, mollusks, algae. All this birds are looking for in shallow water in a thick layer of silt. The beak of these birds has a specific structure; along its edges there are filters similar to small lamellar scallops. He plays the role of a kind of sieve. The flamingo keeps its beak in the upper layers of the water, where there is a lot of plankton. The bird first draws water into it, then closes it and releases liquid through the beak, and swallows food. This process is very fast.

reproduction

The pink flamingo is a monogamous species that forms pairs that last a lifetime. There are exceptions where some individuals look for a new partner for each mating season. To hatch chicks, they build nests, which are located in large clusters, very close to each other.

Individuals older than three years are considered sexually mature. However, older birds (5-6 years old) are engaged in the construction of nests. A few months before nesting, mating games take place in pairs. Both males and females take part in peculiar dances. This is an amazingly beautiful sight. Large groups of birds move in unison with straightened necks and raised heads, which are constantly turned from side to side. When choosing a partner, the color of plumage plays an important role. The decision remains with the female, she chooses the male. The intensity of the color indicates the health of the bird, good appetite. The brighter it is, the more likely the males are to be chosen by the female.

Those couples that took place earlier do not take part in the dances. Migratory birds arrange mating demonstrations in places of rest. As soon as they arrive at the nesting sites, they immediately start building nests. They do this for two weeks.

How do flamingos build nests?

The nest building process is unique and time consuming. For breeding, flamingos build cone-shaped structures in shallow water from silt and clay, resembling small mounds about 60 cm high. Both the female and the male are engaged in construction. They do not lay many eggs, most often in a clutch of 2-3 pieces. The parents take turns incubating the chicks for thirty days. Chicks hatch quite independent and active. Within a few days they become full members of the colony.

Parents feed their chicks with special bird's milk, which is formed in their upper esophagus. This milk also has a pink color. It is produced not only by females, but also by males. Hatched chicks are covered with white down, which turns gray over time. First, the cubs go to a kind of kindergarten, in which there are even educators. Parents at this time are busy looking for food. In such nurseries there can be up to 200 cubs. Parents recognize babies by their voices. The cubs begin to feed on their own after two months, when the beak grows. At three months, young flamingos already look like adult birds.

flamingo species

Five species are currently known. Red flamingos live on islands in the Caribbean and the Galapagos. The color of their plumage can reach purple and bright red.

Off the coast of the Persian Gulf, as well as in areas near the salt lakes of Kenya and Tanzania, dwarf or small flamingos live. Their body length reaches only 80 cm. High in the Andes there are salt lakes where Andean flamingos live. Their plumage is white-pink, rarely scarlet. The very rare James flamingos live in Bolivia and northern Argentina. They feed on diatoms. In South America, you can see the Chilean flamingos. The wings of these birds are red.

Dangerous life of flamingos in the wild

The natural threat of flamingos is predators: foxes, jackals, wolves. Also, predatory birds, such as eagles, pose a certain danger to the colonies. Sensing danger, flamingos fly away. To take off, they need a takeoff run, which they can carry out both in water and on land. Since flamingos stay in groups, it is difficult for predators to choose one specific prey, and the colorful wings make it difficult for them to focus. In the wild, birds live up to 30 years, in captivity - up to 40.

• The ancestors of flamingos lived on the planet 30 million years ago.
• The plumage of birds can be not only pink, but also red and even crimson.
• To take off, they run through the water 5-6 meters.
• In flight, they take the form of a cross, stretching their legs and neck.
• Future parents sit on the nest with their legs tucked in, and get up from it, resting their beak on the ground.

Protection of different types of flamingos

Due to poaching and human economic activities, the world's flamingo populations have declined markedly. In the International Red Book, they still have the status of "Causing Least Concern". Some species were considered extinct for a long time. So, James's flamingos were found only in 1957. Many countries of the world have listed flamingos in their Red Books.

(Phoenicopterus roseus). Detachment and family Flamingos. Habitats - Asia, Africa, Europe. Wingspan 2.4 m. Weight 5.6 kg

Pink flamingos are otherwise called ordinary, although these birds are completely unique. They are found not only in Africa, but also in Iran, Azerbaijan. They can be seen in southern Spain and France. When eating, flamingos filter out blue-green algae - up to 100 g per day. In fact, these are bacteria capable of photosynthesis. Artemia crustaceans that develop in the water of brackish lakes are also excellent food. Viscous shores for birds are not a problem. You can walk on stilts and through the swamp. Parents feed the hatched chick with a nutrient mixture. It contains proteins, vitamins and blood cells. How they get from the parents' circulatory system into this "baby formula" is a mystery.

Flamingos live in huge colonies. They lead mainly a sedentary lifestyle, only the northern populations of pink flamingos are migratory. They settle mainly along the shores of sea lagoons, large lakes with brackish water and in shallow water, where they can find food - a variety of small crustaceans, worms, mollusks and algae. The pink or red color of flamingo plumage is given by lipochrome dyes, which enter the body of the bird along with food. Interestingly, in zoos, these birds lose their unique plumage coloration after a couple of years, since the food they are fed does not contain those substances that flamingos can find in the wild. Flamingos get their food in this way, lowering their heads under water and digging with their beaks in the bottom silt. At the same time, the bird turns its head so that the back of the head touches the bottom, and the upper mandible is at the bottom.

Flamingo nests are high; they look like pedestals, built from improvised material - pebbles, shell rock, soaked stems. Silt is used as a binding material. Clutch contains 1 to 3 (usually 1) large white eggs.