Greater Flamingo  

 

 

 

Greater Flamingos are very beautiful creatures. They are known for their signature; their pink coloring and their long,skinny legs.

 

 

 

the shaded yellow is where the Greater Flamingo lives

 

 

 

Kingdom:Animalia

 

 

Phylum: Chordata

 

 

Scientific Class: Aves

 

 

Scientific Genus: Phoeicopteridae

 

 

Species: Phoenicopterus ruber roseus

 

 

 CCountries Found: northwestern India, Middle East, limited

numbers in Europe, eastward to Siberia

and midwestern Mediterranean

 

 

 

 

• Length: 3.3-5 ft

 

 

 

• Height: 3.3-4.6 ft

 

          

 

• Weight: 3.3-9 lbs

 

 

 

 

Type of Body Covering

Feathers 

 

 

Endangered Status

 

Vulnerable

 

  

 

 

Special Adaptations to the Environment

 

• beak shaped like a scoop, 

 

• long legs= wade much deeper

 

• webbed feet= support on mud

 

• curling leg under their body= warm foot

 

 

 

Symbiotic Relationships

• Shrimp- commensalism- Flamingo eats the shrimp and balances population  

 

• Krill- commensalism- Flamingo eats the krill and balances population

 

 

•  Crayfish- commensalism- Flamingo eats the crayfish and balances population 

 

 

 

 

Type of Eater

 

omnivore 

 

 

 

 

Prey

 

Shrimp, crayfish, aquatic plants and krill

 

 

 

 

 

Forms of communication:

 

• visual displays,

 

• nasal honking,

 

• grunting

 

• growling

 

• flamingos are usually quite loud birds.

 

 

 

 

Interesting or Unusual Behaviors

 

 they spend most of their day preening (distributing an oil from their tail feathers for water proofness)

 

 

 

                      

  Name of Young

 

Chicks        

 

 

 

Other Facts 

 

• Greater Flamingos are Endothermic (warm blooded) animals

 

 

• Pink Flamingos are related to the tropicbird and pigeon 

 

 

• There is no such thing as a Pink Flamingo, That's

just the Greater Flamingo's common name

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

Question and Answer

 

 

 

QWhy do flamingos stand on one foot?

AThis is one of their special adaptations to the environment. While one

foot is in the water, the other is tucked under its body to keep it warm

 

 

 

QHow do flamingos get their pink coloring? Is it

from the food they eat?

 AA What they eat impacts their coloring. In captivity, they used to be fed beets, carrots, and red peppers. Now, they're fed canthaxthin.

 

    

 QQ Who came up

with the plastic lawn flamingos and when?

A In 1957, a pink idea hit Don Featherstone. He came up

with the very first pink flamingo plastic lawn ornament.

He won the Ig Noble Prize for his fantastic idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY SOURCES:

 

websites

http://www.mackers.com/crayfish/

 

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/flamingo/adaptions

 

book

Storks and Other Large Wading Birds