Flamingos
There are 6 species of flamingo and we have 2 species at Birdland, the Greater and Caribbean. All flamingos are pink and obtain the colour from their diet of crustaceans. They vary as a species in shades of pink from white to red. The Caribbean is dark vivid pink and the Greater is pale pink. Birdland bred its first flamingo, a Greater, in 2003.
Flamingos have quite elaborate courtship displays, dancing and synchronisation, which can usually be seen between April and August. All flamingo species have the unique sickle shaped down-turned beak that is specifically designed for sifting food from the silt, stirred up by their feed, in the river or lakebed.
Greater Flamingo
Flamingos have been known to man for thousands of years and even worshipped at times. There are in cave paintings in Spain dating back to 5000BC and the Egyptians used them as a symbol to indicate the colour red and even regarded it as the living embodiment of the sun-god...
Caribbean Flamingo
Flamingos are very distinctive birds because of their colour and the unusual shape of their beaks. The Caribbean Flamingo is nearly scarlet in prime condition, unlike the Greater which is a pale pink. The birds colour is due to their diet where they obtain carotenoid pigments. In captivity artificial pigments...
Our Flamingos are kindly supported by…
- Jodi Young
- Liz Simpson
- Imogen
- Ruby Hastings
- Matthew Evans
- Mandy Grime
- Henry Taylor
- Debbie Woodwood
- Willow Morgan
- Lady Pamela
- Laura Belcher
