FLAMINGO

FALMINGO(ၾကဳိးၾကာနီ)

Flamingo are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. They are found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, but are more numerous in the latter. There are four species in the Americas while two exist in the Old World.

Physiology
Diet

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The flamingos characterisic pink colouring is caused by the Beta carotene in their diet. The source of this varies by species, but shrimp and blue-green algae are common sources; zoo-fed flamingoes may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin, which is often also given to farmed salmon.[1]

Legs
Flamingos frequently stand on one leg. The reason for this behavior is not fully known. One common theory is that tucking one leg beneath the body may conserve body heat [2], but this has not been proven. It is often suggested that this is done in part to keep the legs from getting wet, and in addition to conserving energy. In addition to standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

Colour
Young flamingos hatch with grey plumage, but the feathers of an adult range from light pink to bright red due to the bacteria in the water they inhabit and the pigments obtained from their food supply. A flamingo that is well-fed and healthy is vibrantly coloured bright pink and is more desirable as a mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or suffering from a lack of food. Notable exceptions are the flamingos in captivity, many of which turn a pale pink as they are not fed foods containing sufficient amounts of carotene. This is changing as more zoos begin to add shrimp and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos. In summary, flamingos obtain their color from a shrimp-rich diet.

Feeding
Flamingos produce a "milk" like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin (see Columbidae). It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.