Greater flamingo

Greater flamingos apparently aren’t fans of a sun-faded look for their neck feathers. Scientists have known that the leggy birds touch up their color by smearing their necks with a serum they produce glands near their tails. But greater flamingos ( Phoenicopterus roseus) aren’t simply enhancing color that’s already there; they’re also Ecology and Evolution. Feathers with a thicker coating of this serum held their color better than those with less, analysis shows. Flamingos’ feathers help the birds fly, keep their bodies dry and attract mates. The feathers get their red color from carotenoids, molecules responsible for many natural pigments, found in the birds’ steady diet of brine shrimp and algae. When flamingos preen, they care for their feathers a bit like how we care for our hair, cleaning out accumulated dirt and parasites. And like some of us, they add color. To apply their DIY feather dye, flamingos rub their cheeks on a gland above their tail called the uropygial gland, which generates a color-carrying serum. The birds then rub their serum-coated cheeks on their feathers and sway their necks to make sure the dye sticks. All that effort, paired with But the sun’s ultraviolet radiation can break down carotenoids. That got Maria Cecilia Chiale, a biologist at Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Argentina, wondering if flamingos lose their color without constant reapplication of the serum. If so, that might help explain their instinct to constantly “touch up” their plu...

Out of the six species of flamingo on our planet, the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most common and widespread member of the flamingo family. The Greater Flamingo is an easily identifiable, colorful wading bird and is often found flocking together with the Lesser Flamingo in the great salt lakes across Africa. These famous pink birds can be found in warm, watery regions on many continents and also occur in Asia in the coastal regions of India and Pakistan, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and in Southern Europe. When flamingos flock together, they are referred to as a ‘colony’ or a ‘stand’. The closest relatives to the Greater Flamingo are the Chilean Flamingo, Caribbean Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. There are no subspecies of the Greater Flamingo. Greater Flamingo Characteristics The Greater Flamingo is the largest species of flamingo and stands around 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall in height and weighs between 2 – 4 kilograms (4.4 – 8.8 pounds). The Greater Flamingo has a wingspan of between 1.4 and 1.7 metres (4.5 – 5.5 feet). The Greater Flamingo’s large size allows it to wade into deeper water than most other flamingos. The flamingo’s plumage is pinkish/white in color, with red wing coverts and black primary and secondary flight feathers. Their long, downward bending bills are pink with a black tip and their long, thin legs are also pink. Greater Flamingos have peculiar shaped heads on long, lean, curved necks with a distinctive downward b...

Observe flamingo flight, flocking, and feeding behaviours Flamingos are highly Phoeniconaias minor) gather during the breeding season. In flight, flamingos present a striking and beautiful sight, with legs and neck stretched out straight, looking like white and rosy crosses with black arms. No less interesting is the flock at rest, with their long necks twisted or coiled upon the body in any conceivable position. Flamingos are often seen standing on one leg. Various reasons for this habit have been suggested, such as regulation of body temperature, The Phoenicopterus ruber) breeds in large colonies on the coasts of the P. ruber ruber) and the Old World flamingo ( P. ruber roseus) of Africa and southern Europe and Asia. The Chilean flamingo ( Phoenicopterus chilensis) is primarily an inland species. Two smaller species that live high in the Andes Mountains of South America are the Andean flamingo ( Phoenicoparrus andinus) and the puna, or James’s, flamingo ( Phoenicoparrus jamesi). The former has a pink band on each of its yellow legs, and the latter was thought extinct until a remote population was discovered in 1956. The Phoeniconaias minor), which inhabits the lake district of East Africa and parts of

© Amresh Mishra/500px/Getty Image Info. Greater flamingos migrate to India The greater flamingo is the largest of the six different species of flamingos, standing up to 1.5 metres tall. These pink birds can be found in warm, watery regions on many continents. The flamingo’s colour comes from its diet of algae, shrimp and other crustaceans. Greater flamingos live and feed in groups called flocks or colonies. They are very social and can travel in groups of thousands. During the winter, many of the flamingos living in the northern regions of Asia migrate to the warmer coastal areas of Iran and India, which is where our photo was taken.

Plate 431 American Flamingo On the 7th of May, 1832, while sailing from Indian Key, one of the numerous islets that skirt the south-eastern coast of the Peninsula of Florida, I for the first time saw a flock of Flamingoes. It was on the afternoon of one of those sultry days which, in that portion of the country, exhibit towards evening the most glorious effulgence that can be conceived. The sun, now far advanced toward the horizon, still shone with full splendour, the ocean around glittered in its quiet beauty, and the light fleecy clouds that here and there spotted the heavens, seemed flakes of snow margined with gold. Our bark was propelled almost as if by magic, for scarcely was a ripple raised by her bows as we moved in silence. Far away to seaward we spied a flock of Flamingoes advancing in "Indian line," with well-spread wings, outstretched necks, and long legs directed backwards. Ah! reader, could you but know the emotions that then agitated my breast! I thought I had now reached the height of all my expectations, for my voyage to the Floridas was undertaken in a great measure for the purpose of studying these lovely birds in their own beautiful islands. I followed them with my eyes, watching as it were every beat of their wings; and as they were rapidly advancing towards us, Captain DAY, who was aware of my anxiety to procure some, had every man stowed away out of sight and our gunners in readiness. The pilot, Mr. EGAN, proposed to offer the first taste of his "gro...