Plastic pink flamingos are popular lawn ornaments in the U.S. I can attest to that fact, having seen several decorating lawns and landscaping. One house even had multiple flamingos of different species. My only other encounter with flamingos — besides as a print in a Hawaiian shirt — is at the Dallas Zoo where many of the beautiful, outrageously colored animals congregate. Also, in my childhood, my family often accused me of being a flamingo, since I frequently stood on one leg.
Etymology
According to Wikipedia, the name "flamingo" comes from Portuguese or Spanish flamengo — flame-colored — in turn coming from Provençal flamenc from flama "flame" and Germanic-like suffix -ing, with a possible influence of the Spanish ethnonym flamenco "Fleming" or "Flemish." The generic name Phoenicopterus literally means "blood red-feathered" and has a similar etymology to the common name; other genera include Phoeniconaias, which means "crimson/red water nymph,” and Phoenicoparrus, which means "crimson/red bird” — though, an unknown bird of omen.
Greater flamingo
The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo,[4] averaging 43–59 inches tall and weighing 4.4–8.8 lbs. The largest male flamingos have been recorded at up to 74 inches tall and 9.9 lbs. The typical lifespan in captivity, according to Basel (Switzerland) Zoo, is over 60 years. In the wild, the average lifespan is 30-40 years. It can be found in parts of Africa, southern Europe and South and Southwest Asia.
The greater flamingo resides in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water. Using its feet, the bird stirs up the mud, then sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms and mollusks. It feeds with its head down, and its upper jaw is movable and not rigidly fixed to its skull. Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound.
Lesser flamingo
The lesser flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though it is a tall and large bird by most standards. The species can weigh from 2.6 to 6.0 lbs. The standing height is around 31 to 35 inches. The total length — from beak to tail — and wingspan are in the same range of measurements, from 35 to 41 inches. The clearest difference between this species and the greater flamingo — the only other Old World species of flamingo — is the much more extensive black on the bill. Size is less helpful unless the species are together, since the sexes of each species also differ in height.
The lesser flamingo may be the most numerous species of flamingo, with a population that at its peak probably numbered up to two million individual birds. This species feeds primarily on Spirulina, algae which grow only in very alkaline lakes. Presence of flamingo groups near water bodies is indication of sodic alkaline water which is not suitable for irrigation use. Although blue-green in color, the algae contain the photosynthetic pigments that give the birds their pink color. Their deep bill is specialized for filtering tiny food items.
It can be found in Africa to Northwest India. Lesser flamingos are prey to a variety of species, including marabou stork, baboon, African fish eagle, African wildcat and African golden wolf.
Despite being the most numerous species of flamingo, it is classified as near threatened due to its declining population and the low number of breeding sites, some of which are threatened by human activities. The population in the two key East African lakes, Nakuru and Bogoria, have been adversely affected in recent years by suspected heavy metal poisoning, while its primary African breeding area in Lake Natron is currently under threat by a proposed soda ash plant by Tata Chemicals. The only breeding site in South Africa, situated at Kamfers Dam, is threatened by pollution and encroaching development.
Chilean flamingo
The Chilean flamingo is a large species of flamingo at 43–51 inches closely related to the American flamingo and greater flamingo. The species is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It breeds in South America from Ecuador and Peru to Chile and Argentina and east to Brazil; it has been introduced into Germany and the Netherlands. These flamingos are mainly restricted to salt lagoons and soda lakes but these areas are vulnerable to habitat loss and water pollution.
The Chilean flamingo's bill is equipped with comb-like structures that enable it to filter food —mainly algae and plankton — from the water of the coastal mudflats, estuaries, lagoons and salt lakes where it lives.
Chilean flamingos live in large flocks in the wild and require crowded conditions to stimulate breeding. During breeding season, males and females display a variety of behaviors to attract mates, including head flagging — swiveling their heads from side-to-side in tandem — and wing salutes, where the wings are repeatedly opened and closed. Flamingos in general have a poor record of successful breeding because they will delay reproduction until the environmental conditions are favorable for breeding.
In 1988, a Chilean flamingo that lived in the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City, Utah, had mistakenly not received his routine wing clipping. The flamingo escaped and became a local legend in the greater Salt Lake area known as Pink Floyd the Flamingo. Pink Floyd came to Utah in the winters to eat the brine shrimp that live in the Great Salt Lake and flew north to Idaho and Montana in the spring and summer. Pink Floyd became a popular tourist attraction and local icon until his disappearance and presumed death after he flew north to Idaho one spring in 2005 and was never seen again.
James’s flamingo
James's flamingo — also known as the puna flamingo — is a species of flamingo that populates the high altitudes of the Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and northwest Argentina. It is named for Harry Berkeley James, a British naturalist who studied the bird. James's flamingo was thought to have been extinct until a remote population was discovered in 1956.
James's flamingo is about the same size as the lesser flamingo. It typically measures about 2.95–3.02 feet long and weighs about 4.4 lbs. James's flamingos have a very long neck made up of 19 long cervical vertebrae, allowing for of movement and rotation of the head. Their long, thin legs also characterize them. The knee is not visible externally but is located at the top of the leg. The joint at the middle of the leg — which most assume to be the knee joint — is actually the ankle joint.
All flamingo species are capable of flying. The flight feathers are easily distinguished in James's flamingos as they are the only black feathers on the bird. To begin flying, they run a few steps and then begin to flap their wings. When they want to land, the opposite process occurs, and as they touch down to a surface, they continue to run as they decelerate and stop flapping their wings. Flamingos have been noted to fly up to 37 mph.
Both James's and Andean flamingos feed their chicks through an esophageal secretion that is regurgitated from the crop — thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract — of the bird. Both male and female parents are able to feed the chick. Adult flamingos are the most developed filter feeders of the birds. Of the species, James's flamingo has the finest filter-feeding apparatus.
To feed, the flamingos' long legs allow them to walk into the water and swoop their necks down into an S-shape to allow the beak to enter the water. The S-shape is effective because it allows the head to be placed upright and the bottom of the bill to be placed as shallow or as deep as it pleases. Only lowering the distal end of the bill into the water allows nostrils to remain above water. The water filled with small organisms floods the bill and filtration process begins. The lakes, from which the flamingo typically feeds, are Andean lakes which are mostly fresh water.
Breeding cycles in flamingos begin at six years of age when fully matured. The frequency of breeding is irregular and may skip a year. The entire colony may participate in mating rituals at the same time. The males put on a show by vocalizing and sticking their necks and heads straight up in the air and turning their heads back and forth. The females initiate mating by walking away from the group and a male follows.
Andean flamingo
The Andean flamingo is a species of flamingo and one of the rarest of its type in the world. It is an endangered species and lives in the Andes mountains of South America. It is distinguished from other flamingos by its deeper lower mandible and the very long filtering filaments on the maxila. It is the largest flamingo in the Andes. Andean flamingos are migratory, with the ability to travel up to 700 miles in one day. In the summer, they live in salt lakes and migrate to the lower wetlands for the winter. The cause of this migration from summer to winter is possibly due to the extreme aridity of salt flats during the winter. The path of migration is unknown, but it is thought to occur between the Chilean breeding grounds and the wetlands of central and western Argentina.
The Andean flamingo's habitat is constantly changing due to human activity. The primary threat to the flamingo population is mining excavations, which occur at the end of the summer rainy season. The habitat of the Andean flamingo is rich in boron compounds, specifically borax. Borax is fairly toxic at high dosages to animals such as the Andean flamingo, but not to humans. A study on the mining environment determined as little as 5 g of borax can produce adverse effects in animal populations, but human workers remain unaffected at these levels. Therefore, the miners remain unaffected while the animals suffer from developmental and reproductive toxicity.
A study on Salinas Lake in Peru showed that mining companies have established themselves adjacent to the flamingos' nesting sites, and some mining is performed near flamingo breeding grounds and feeding sites. Flamingos abandoned their nesting sites if mining was initiated after the establishment of nesting colonies and in close proximity. An increase of hydrocarbon exploration resulted in a decreased success rate for breeding. The decreased reproductive success may be due to borax exposure or to an altered environment caused by bulldozers disturbing the lake bed. Mining creates a muddy environment, which entraps flamingos, thus increasing mortality. Surveys conducted on residents near the mining activities report sightings of dead flamingos exhumed by the bulldozers.
Not only are the flamingos' offspring numbers diminished by mining activities, but they are also affected by the egg collection by locals. This illegal hunting has increased over time due to an increase in international demand for flamingo eggs. Poaching is conducted by organized groups within Chile; the group members trap the flamingos and export them to Europe, the United States and other overseas destinations.
American flamingo
The American flamingo is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo. It is also known as the Caribbean flamingo, although it is also present in the Galápagos Islands. It is the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America. It breeds in the
Caribbean islands, Caribbean Mexico, southern Florida, Belize, coastal Columbia, northern Brazil,
Venezuela and Galápagos Islands. Adult American flamingos are smaller on average than greater flamingos but are the largest flamingos in the Americas. They measure from 47 to 57 inches tall. The males weigh an average of 6.2 lbs., while females average 4.9 lbs.
While males usually initiate courtship, females control the process. If interest is mutual, a female walks by the male, and if the male is receptive, he walks with her. Both parties make synchronized movements until one member aborts this process. For low-intensity courtships, males and females walk in unison with their heads raised. In high-intensity courtships, males and females walk at a quick pace with their heads dropped in a false feeding posture. This high-intensity courtship stops at any point if either bird turns and the other does not follow, the heads are raised, unison movements are stopped or the pace of movement is slowed.
American flamingos are saltwater birds that ingest food with a high salt content and mostly drink salt water. Also, though not commonly, they can drink fresh water at near-boiling temperatures from geysers. From their high-salt diet, they would lose more water and have a greater salt uptake. There is a salt gland which is found in their beaks. This salt gland helps excrete excess salt from the body through the nasal openings in the flamingo's beaks.
Flamingos’ relationships with humans
· Ancient Romans considered their tongues a delicacy.
· In the Americas, the Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals, and often depicted flamingos in their art.
· Flamingos are the national bird of the Bahamas.
· Andean miners have killed flamingos for their fat, believing that it would cure tuberculosis.
· In the United States, pink plastic flamingo statues are popular lawn ornaments.
Other pink animals
Nudibranch
These marine animals are known to shed their shells when they metamorphose. Due to their fantastic appearance, they have been given several names like the “clown,” “marigold,” “dancer,” “splendid” and “dragon.” They can be found in seas across the world but are not able to survive in saline waters save for some few species. They inhabit reefs which are warm and shallow and like to eat sponges, hydroids and fish eggs, among others. They are carnivorous and some people eat them.
Galápagos Pink Land Iguana
Scientifically known as Conolophus marthae, it belongs to the lizard family and was found in 1986. It is chiefly herbivorous despite its predator look and has a short head and claws on its feet plus solid legs. In 2009, it was identified as a separate species from other land iguanas. Its defining feature is its pink body which has dark stripes running across it. It lacks a specific skin pigment which gives it the pink color and allows us to see its blood. It has been declared an endangered species — critical level — with less than 200 remaining.
Roseate spoonbill
Found in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, its binomial name is Platalea ajaja. The adult spoonbill has a light green head, white neck and pink feathers. Similar to a flamingo, it acquires the pink color from carotene and mostly lives in lagoons, mangrove keys, coastal marshes and others. Its diet is mainly small fish, marine invertebrates and some plants which it eats while moving its head from side to side. Its most outstanding feature is a bill in the shape of a spoon.
Orchid mantis
It is scientifically known as Hymenopus coronatus, and it is efficient when it comes to mimicry. Alternatively, the mantis can be called the walking flower or pink orchid mantis. Found in Southeast Asia, it can be mistaken for a flower because it can camouflage itself and mimic orchids. It uses its four legs to simulate the petals while the front pair with teeth captures the prey. It prefers insects as food. A writer once confused the insect for an orchid which he termed carnivorous after the insect attacked a butterfly.
Roseate skimmer
Who said that predators could not be beautiful? Meet the roseate skimmer, a dragonfly that looks like a jewel but ia a very deadly predator. Known scientifically as Orthemis ferruginea, the dragonfly is native to North and South America where it inhabits pools, slow streams, ditches and temporary or permanent ponds because it loves open water. The males’ abdomens are rose pink and red while the females maintain an orange-brown color. They feast on insects and mostly fly during the day.
Crab spider
The scariest feature about crab spiders is perhaps their ability to camouflage themselves. They do not create webs to capture their prey, but there are some called wandering hunters and some known as ambush predators. Some can sit on a flower, and after some days it will match the flowers’ color. Some hide on barks and leaves as they wait upon their prey. Their scientific name is Thomisidae, and they can be found in Northwest Europe, North America and northern and eastern Australia.
Hairy squat lobster
The hairy squat lobster is otherwise known as the “fairy crab" and is known for its small size and incredibly unusual appearance. It measures 0.28 inches in length and can be found living in specific sponge species. Its scientific name is Lauriea siagiani, and it can be found in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Despite having no economic value, the animal is incredibly beautiful with a translucent body, pinkish-purple legs and a body covered in purple spots and white hairs.
Pine grosbeak
Found in North America, subarctic Fennoscandia and Siberia, the pine grosbeak's binomial name is Pinicola enucleator. It is a fruit eater mostly during winter and travels long distances for food during food scarcity. The male grosbeaks have rose-pink or rose-red feathers while the females maintain a yellow-olive color. This color however sometimes depends on the location. During the mating season, the males whistle and protect their territories to attract mates.
Namib sand gecko
The namib sand gecko — alternatively known as the web-footed gecko — is scientifically known as Pachydactylus rangei. It can be found in Namibia and Angola. In 1908, it was described for the first time by zoologist L.G. Andersson who named it after Dr. Paul Range who discovered it. It has translucent skin which makes its internal parts visible and also helps it maintain its camouflage in the Namib Desert. It is fast, nocturnal, lives in burrows and mostly eats crickets, small spiders and beetles, among others.
Katydid
Alternatively known as bush crickets in the UK or long-horned grasshoppers — a term that is not used frequently, katydids can mimic, have camouflage abilities and are primarily nocturnal. Their scientific name is Tettigoniidae. Normally, katydids have a green color — not pink. The pink color seen in some katydids is said to be a recessive gene called erythrism. They have a lifespan of approximately one year and develop into full adults very late. They can be found on every continent in the world except Antarctica.
Bargibant’s pygmy seahorse
The Bargibant’s pygmy seahorse can be found in the Indo-Pacific area. Scientifically known as Hippocampus bargibant, the seahorse is tiny with a size of 0.79 inches. It lives on fan corals and hides itself using its camouflage abilities. It was discovered in 1969 when Georges Bargibant stumbled upon them while he was studying a coral. They feed slowly and more often since they lack a digestion system.
Small elephant hawkmoth
The small elephant hawk moth whose binomial name is Deilephila porcellus is found in Western Asia, North Africa and Europe. It lives as a gray caterpillar first then changes to become a moth with pink and olive wings. It is attracted to light, and adults can usually be seen from May to July mostly flying at dusk. This animal is not to be mistaken for its cousin the Elephant hawk moth, which is larger and less colored.
Axolotl
The axolotl or the Mexican walking fish is scientifically known as Ambystoma mexicanum. It is an amphibian that does not go through metamorphosis. It has a lifespan of about 10 to 15 years and lives as larvae its whole life, a condition known as neoteny. Mainly found in Lake Xochimilco, the axolotl is a quite exotic pet that is already facing extinction. It also has regenerative abilities enabling it to regenerate its spine, jaw, limbs and brain!
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