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Only a bird looks like this: long legs, a long neck, a curved beak, and bright pink plumage are the hallmarks of the flamingo.

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What do flamingos look like?

For many years, flamingos were classified as waders. Then it was said that they were related to the ducks. In the meantime, the flamingos form their own order in the class of birds with six different species that are quite similar to each other. The largest and most widespread is the greater flamingo.

Depending on the species, flamingos measure between 80 and 130 centimeters from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, and even up to 190 centimeters from the tip of the beak to the toes. They weigh between 2.5 and 3.5 kilograms. The curved long neck of the flamingos and their long thin legs are particularly striking.

A special feature is a beak. It looks very clumsy in relation to the narrow body and is bent down in the middle. Their plumage is colored in different shades of pink – depending on what they eat. Some species only have pink feathers. The tips of the wings of the Andean flamingo and the red flamingo are black. Males and females can hardly be distinguished in all species.

Where do flamingos live?

Flamingos are globetrotters. They are found in North and East Africa, in Southwest and Central Asia, in South and Central America, and also in Southern Europe. There are breeding colonies of the greater flamingo, especially in southern Spain and southern France.

A small colony of different flamingos has even settled in the Zwillbrocker Venn, an area on the German-Dutch border. In 1982 the first eleven animals appeared there. No other flamingos in the world live this far north. Flamingos live on the shores of lakes, in estuaries, and in lagoons where salty seawater and freshwater mix.

However, they are so adaptable that they can also live in extremely salty lakes. The Andean flamingo and the James flamingo live in Bolivia and Peru on salt lakes at an altitude of 4000 meters.

What species of flamingo are there?

Six different flamingo species are known. Some scientists believe that they are all just subspecies of the same species. In addition to the pink flamingo, these are the red flamingo (also called Cuban flamingo), the lesser flamingo, the Chilean flamingo, the Andean flamingo, and the James flamingo.

How old do flamingos get?

Flamingos, at least in captivity, can get quite old. The oldest flamingo living in a zoo was 44 years old.

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ਫਲੇਮਿੰਗੋ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ?

Flamingos are very sociable. They sometimes live in huge swarms of several thousand to a million animals. Such large accumulations only occur in Africa. The pictures of the flocks of flamingos in East Africa are impressive shots from the animal world.

Flamingos stalk majestically through shallow water. They stir up mud with their feet and thus bring out small crabs, worms, or algae. Then they keep sticking their heads in the water to sift through the mud and water for food. The upper beak lies on the bottom and they filter food out of the water with the thick lower beak.

The beak is equipped with a so-called strainer, which consists of fine horny plates that act as a sieve. The water is sucked in by pumping movements of the throat and with the help of the tongue and pressed through this strainer.

Some of the flamingos in southern France stay there all year round, but some animals fly further to the southern Mediterranean or even to West Africa.

Friends and foes of the flamingo

Flamingos are very sensitive to disturbances. Therefore, when threatened by floods or enemies, they quickly abandon their clutch or young. The eggs and young then often prey to seagulls and birds of prey.

ਫਲੇਮਿੰਗੋ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਪ੍ਰਜਨਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ?

In southern Europe, flamingos breed between mid-April and May. Because there are few branches and other plant nesting material in their habitat, flamingos build mud cones up to 40 centimeters high. They usually lay one, sometimes two eggs. Males and females take turns incubating.

The young hatch after 28 to 32 days. Their appearance is not at all reminiscent of that of a flamingo: their legs are thick and red and their plumage is inconspicuous grey. For the first two months, they are nourished with so-called crop milk, a secretion that is produced in glands in the upper digestive tract. It consists of a lot of fat and some protein.

After two months, their beaks are sufficiently developed that they can filter food out of the water themselves. When they are four days old, they leave the nest for the first time and follow their parents. Flamingos fledge at around 78 days of age. Flamingos only have pink plumage when they are three to four years old. They breed for the first time when they are about six years old.

ਫਲੇਮਿੰਗੋ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਸੰਚਾਰ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ?

The calls of the flamingos are reminiscent of the cries of geese.

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ਫਲੇਮਿੰਗੋ ਕੀ ਖਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ?

Flamingos specialize in filtering tiny crabs, brine shrimp, insect larvae, algae, and plant seeds out of the water with the strainer in their beak. The food also determines the color of the flamingos: their plumage is not naturally pink.

The coloring is caused by pigments, so-called carotenoids, which are contained in the tiny brine shrimp. If this lining is missing, the pink fades. In Asia, there is even a small flamingo colony with greenish feathers.

Husbandry of flamingos

Flamingos are often kept in zoos. Because they lose their color without natural food, artificial carotenoids are added to their feed. This keeps her plumage bright pink. Not only do we humans like that better, but also the female flamingos: They find males with bright pink feathers more attractive.