Flamingos " Range: Africa, Asia, North America, Central America, South America, and Europe Habitat: large, shallow lakes or lagoons. Lakes may be far inland or near the sea or even connected to it. Think pinkâ€"and orange? With their bright feathers and strongly hooked bills, flamingos are among the most easily recognized waterbirds. Their pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans that the birds eat. The Caribbean flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber ruber are the brightest, showing their true colors of red, pink, or orange on their legs, bills, and faces. Food for thought Long legs let flamingos wade into deeper water than most other birds to look for food. And speaking of food, the flamingo also has very distinctive eating habits. The bill is held upside down in the water. The flamingo feeds by sucking water and mud in at the front of its bill and then pumping it out again at the sid! es. Here, briny plates called lamellae act like tiny filters, trapping shrimp and other small water creatures for the flamingo to eat. The smaller puna Phoenicopparrus jamesi, Andean Phoenicopparrus andinus, and lesser flamingos Phoeniconaias minor have deeper bills and stiff lamellae. This helps them filter very fine particles, such as algae, through their bill and keep bigger particles out. Caribbean, greater Phoenicopterus ruber, and Chilean flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis are larger and feed ...
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