VERY INTERESTING: FLAMINGOS

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Why are Flamingos Pink? And Other Flamingo Facts

Jun. 29, 2021

A close-up of two flamingos' heads with pink feathers and large, hook-shaped bills

There is more to a flamingo than its bright pink feathers. Get to know these delightfully unusual birds with 5 fun facts — some of which may surprise you!

1. Flamingo nests are made of mud.

A flamingo’s nest looks like a mini mud volcano, with room for one large egg. Flamingos are monogamous, and mom and dad are team players. Both help to build the nest and incubate the egg. Flamingo chicks hatch with white-gray, downy feathers and straight bills. It takes several years for them to acquire their signature pink color and hook-shaped bills.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has been home to flamingos since around its founding more than 130 years ago. Bird House keepers have worked to breed flamingos since the early ‘90s and have welcomed more than 120 chicks over the years!

A flock of flamingos on nests made of mud that resemble mini volcanos. One flamingo in the foreground has a chick under its wings, others stand in the background.

2. Flamingos get their pink color from their food.

Flamingos really are what they eat. Many plants produce natural red, yellow or orange pigments, called carotenoids. Carotenoids give carrots their orange color or turn ripe tomatoes red. They are also found in the microscopic algae that brine shrimp eat. As a flamingo dines on algae and brine shrimp, its body metabolizes the pigments — turning its feathers pink.

3. Flamingos are filter feeders and turn their heads “upside down” to eat.

The term filter feeder may conjure images of baleen whales or oyster reefs, but flamingos are filter feeders too. They eat algae, small seeds, tiny crustaceans (like brine shrimp), fly larvae, and other plants and animals that live in shallow waters.

When it’s time to eat, a flamingo will place its head upside down in the water with its bill pointed at its feet. It then sweeps its head side-to-side, using its tongue to pump water in and out of its bill. Comb-like plates along the edge of the bill create a filter for water to rush out, while trapping food inside.

A group of pink flamingos with stem-like legs and long, curved necks stands in a pond in the winter. Snow can be seen on the surrounding trees and there is steam coming off the warm water.

In warm climates, flamingos keep cool by standing in water. Bird House keepers apply this natural thermoregulation to keep the Zoo’s flock warm in the winter, too. The flamingo pool is heated to 70 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the birds comfortable — even when it’s snowing.

4. A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

A group of crows is called a murder, and a group of geese is called a gaggle. So, what is a group of flamingos called? A flamboyance! Other collective nouns for flamingos include stand, colony and pat.

The Zoo’s historic Bird House may be closed for renovations, but keepers continue to care for more than 60 Caribbean flamingos (also called American flamingos) behind the scenes. In the wild, flamingos sometimes gather by the thousands! Scientists estimate that there are more than 200,000 Caribbean flamingos in the wild, with populations in the Bahamas and Cuba, Mexico, and the Southern Caribbean — as well as a small group of about 400-500 in the Galápagos Islands.

A close-up of a flamingo with bright pink feathers resting its head on its body

5. There are six flamingo species.

In addition to Caribbean flamingos, there are lesser, greater, James’s (or Puna), Chilean and Andean flamingos. Greater flamingos are found in parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are the largest and tallest flamingo species.

Chilean, Andean, and James’s flamingos are found only in South America. Andean flamingos are the rarest of the six species, with fewer than 40,000 birds. Lesser flamingos are found in parts of Africa and southern Asia. They are the smallest flamingos and the most abundant. There are more than 2 million lesser flamingos brightening skies and shores with their pink plumage.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking