Pink Flamingo.8195 by DPasschier on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Flamingos or flamingoes[1] /fləˈmɪŋɡoʊz/ are a type of

in the

Phoenicopterus, the only genus in the

Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the

Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other leg tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behaviour is not fully understood. Recent research indicates that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water.[14] However, the behaviour also takes place in warm water. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.[_citation needed_]

Young flamingos hatch with greyish reddish plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and

beta-Carotene

obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly colored and thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished.

Captive

flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild.

Flamingos

filter-feed

brine shrimp

and

blue-green algae

. Their beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from

carotenoids

in their diet of animal and plant

plankton

. These carotenoids are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes.[15] The source of this varies by species, and affects the saturation of color. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker in color compared to those who get it second hand (e.g. from animals that have digested blue-green algae).