Flamingos are large, pink birds that stand over 5 feet tall and weigh between 6 to 8 pounds. They have long legs, boomerang-shaped beaks, and curved necks. Their coloring comes from their diet of crustaceans and algae. Flamingos live in small islands in the Pacific and along coasts in South and North America. They face threats from loss of habitat and food sources due to fishing and climate change.

2. Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordata
Class – Aves
Order – Phoenicopteriformes
Family – Phoenicopteridae
Genus – Phoenicopterus
Species – P. Ruber

3. Color – white, pink or red due to
what they eat
Height – 5 feet tall
Weight – 6 to 8 pounds
Other body parts - long legs,
boomerang shaped beak and a
curved neck for wading
Black wing feathers

4. Small Islands in the Pacific Ocean
Galapagos Island
Along the coast of Colombia
Venezuela
Cape Sable Florida
Inhabited lagoons, mudflats and
coastal waterways

5. Breeding can occur in any season but
the biggest determining factor is rain
fall and current food supply.
A single egg is laid in a muddy mound
and is watched over for 28 to 32 days.
Once the young has hatched it will
leave the nest after 5 days but come
back to feed.
The mother provides a fluid in the
digestive system that goes into the
young's mouth.
After a few weeks the little young will
start hunting for his own food.
They can live up to 15 to 20 years in the
wild but can live up to 50 in captivity.

6. Crustaceans ( shrimp ) gives the
flamingo its pink color.
Insects.
Aquatic plants and algae.

7. No real predators except humans
Lost habitat
Not enough food due to fishing
Global warming ( dry up water that they
feed on )

8. It helps keep the population of
crustaceans ( shrimp ) down.
It helps keep the population of insects
and algae down.

9. Habitat alteration
Egg collecting
Hunting
Poaching

10. Never litter.
Keep the water supply clean.
Support programs that support flamingos.

11. American flamingos are social birds. They
will not nest unless there is a number of
other birds nearby.
The word flamingo comes from the Spanish
and Latin word flamenco which means fire
and refers to bright color.
When flamingos fly in flocks their top speed
can be as high as 35 miles per hour.
Don Featherstone is the inventor of the pink
plastic lawn flamingo which has been on
lawns since 1957.

12. Animal Definitive Guide book
Birds of the World book
www.squidoo.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.google.com