Flamingo Essay Essay Example for Free

Flamingo Essay Essay Bonny Sim Flamingo Essay July 12, 2012 Did you know that flamingos were the inspiration for the phoenix? Pheonicopterus is another name for flamingos in Latin, which means crimson wing. Flamingos live in warm places like South Africa. They are usually near salty lakes or rivers. Flamingos are one of the most amazing creatures on Earth. Flamingos’ bodies are mostly pink. Their beaks are brownish black and the inside parts of their wings are black feathers. However, their eyes, legs, and feet are all pink. They have long, pink chopstick like legs, and big, webbed feet. Flamingos are usually 120cm in height, and weigh 2~5 kg, with an average wingspan of 140cm. Flamingos are pretty tall, mostly because of their long legs and neck. What do flamingos eat? What eats the flamingos? Flamingos have a very special tool for eating: their beaks. They stamp their large feet in the mud of the lake or river to stir up food from the bottom. They usually eat brine shrimp and blue-green algae, filter fed. Also, flamingos are very sociable birds that group in communities that can reach into the thousands. Flamingos group together for predator avoidance maximizing food intake, and finding the best nesting sites. They can be eaten by mongooses and marabous. The unique thing about flamingos is that they are crimson colored. However, the baby flamingos are born with grey feathers. There are carotenoid proteins in aqueous bacteria and beta carotene that causes this pink and reddish coloration. Female flamingos are more attracted to vividly colored, healthy, and enchanting males, when they are finding their mates. The flamingo dance, as we call it, is for finding a mate. They raise their neck high, and twist their heads from side to side. Randomly, they flap their wings. First, the flamingos divide themselves into groups of 15~50 birds. When they find their mate, their female chooses a spot for the nest. Next, they build the nest out of mud and salt. Another pair sometimes tries to steal the other couple`s nest spot if they want it. The female flamingo lays the egg, and it hatches after a month. Thee chicks are born gray, with spots of white. Because the flamingos have a hormone called prolactin, they create crop milk to feed their chicks. The crop milk contains red and white blood cells. The family stays in the nest with the chicks for six days, but after 7~12 days, the chicks venture around. Two weeks later, the chicks become a part of microcreches, and their parents leave them in these groups. Soon, the microcreches come together to form creches, which can consist of thousands of chicks. Creches are meant to protect the chicks from getting eaten by the predators. In conclusion, the life cycle of flamingos, is so awe-inspiring. The way they filter feed, and how they group themselves, is so unbelievable. Did you know that flamingos were the inspiration for the phoenix? The chicks that learn to walk really fast are amazing, too. Let`s protect them from being endangered, by keeping the lakes and rivers clean. Also, it might help the flamingos if we stop the global warming.