820_Flamingo

Today's topic is flamingo.
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Fun facts or should I say OMG! facts about Flamingos

The word "flamingo" comes from the Spanish and Latin word "flamenco" which means fire, and refers to the bright color of the birds' feathers. 

When flying in a flock, the top speed of a flamingo can be as high as 35 miles per hour. 

Flamingos hold their bills upside down while feeding, often for several hours a day, so they can filter out their food while skimming the water. 

Flamingos are monogamous birds that lay only a single egg each year. If that egg is lost or damaged, they do not typically lay a replacement. 

Parent flamingos feed their chicks exclusively crop milk for 5-12 days after hatching. This high fat, high protein substance is not like mammalian milk, but is excellent nutrition for growing chicks. 

The pink, orange or red color of a flamingo's feathers is caused by carotenoid pigments in their food, and a flamingo's diet includes shrimp, plankton, algae and crustaceans. 

The backward bending "knee" of a flamingo's leg is actually the bird's ankle. The actual knee is very close to the body and is not visible through the bird's plumage. 

A flock of flamingos is called a stand or a flamboyance. 

The sad part :

The most prominent threats to flamingos include predators, habitat loss and poaching for decorative feathers as well as humans hunting flamingos to gather eggs as food or to harvest their tongues as meat.