Flamingo
SWAHILI NAME FOR FLAMINGO: HeroePHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Flamingos generally are long-legged, long necked water birds. The long neck is curved with 19 cervical vertebrae. The beak is curved and is used for filter feeding. The feet are webbed for swimming and for greater stability on soft mud.
There are five species of flamingos: The Greater (which includes the subspecies American or Caribbean), Chilean, Lesser, Andean and James' flamingo.
Our exhibit at the Honolulu Zoo includes (from largest to smallest) the American, Chilean, and Lesser.
HABITAT:
Flamingos live near or in brackish or salt water lakes and lagoons, where few other species compete for food. They are the only birds with a beak capable of filtering out the floating organisms on which they feed. That same filter keeps them from consuming too much salt, which could be toxic.
The American flamingo is found along the Atlantic seaboard and on Caribbean islands; the Chilean species inhabits Western South America.
BEHAVIOR:
The flamingo is gregarious in nature, living in flocks numbering in the thousands. Colonies are not always permanent, but seem to be affected by the change in water levels and the subsequent effect on breeding areas. Mass movements of flamingos may be the result of a communication system like that of the honey bee, with individuals reporting information about conditions at distant points. These birds fly well, occasionally soaring, and they also swim, feeding as they travel to other areas
DIET:
Flamingos feed on small crustaceans, algae and unicellular organisms, which they filter from the water with their unique sieve-like beak. Some are bottom-feeders; others are top-feeders, making it possible for different species to co-exist in the same territory.
The food that flamingos eat is rich in carotinoid pigments (named after the pigment found in carrots) which they use to create the pink coloration in their feathers. Without this pigment, their feathers would slowly bleach out and lose color, so in the Zoo they are fed a diet which has carophyll red pigment in it. Their diet consists of rice and scratch, shrimp meal, bread, ground meat, salt, flamin oil, dog meal and smelt.
REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:
It is difficult to distinguish the sexes apart. Males tend to be larger than females. Sexual maturity is reached after 5-6 years. These birds congregate in huge flocks in the wild. As they mature some of the birds engage in ritual preening and stretching movements, always in the same sequence. The flocking instinct is so strong that in the Zoo, our birds remain together in their exhibit by species.
The newly hatched chick has white down feathers, a straight pink beak and thick legs. After 2-3 weeks new gray down feathers grow and the beak begins to bend. At this stage the young are not able to filter feed. They are fed by their parents on a liquid produced in the gullet which is rich in carotinoid pigment. The young Flamingo achieves fully adult plumage in 3-4 years and can breed at 6 years.
Corresponding to the long growth period and the late onset of breeding, flamingos have a long life span. Records exist of 30 years for some captive birds.
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