Table of Contents
Contents:
-Greater Flamingos
-Caribbean Flamingos
-Chilean Flamingos
-Andean Flamingos
-Activities
-Glossary
-Sources
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Introduction
Hello, my name is Professor Flamingo. I will be telling you all about different kinds of flamingos, their diet and more. I know a lot about flamingos because I have researched a lot of them in the past. Now, come along with me to learn more about me and my kind!
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Greater Flamingos
Okay, now let’s talk about greater flamingos.
Physical Appearance and Anatomy
Greater flamingos are one of the largest kinds of flamingos. They have deep pink coloring that covers their wings. On an average*, they weigh eight to nine pounds with a wingspan of sixty inches. They have curved beaks to pick up tiny creatures in ponds.
Habitat
Greater flamingos are found in many places like the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. They can live in saltwater and freshwater habitats. They live on lakes and lagoons.
Diet
This brings us to their diet. They eat tiny creatures like flies, shrimp-like crustaceans, and tiny fish. They are also omnivores*, so they eat plants too.
*'s at the ends of the word, means that they are in the Glossary
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Greater Flamingos
Groups
Greater Flamingos live in colonies or groups. They like to live in groups because while one flamingo is bending down to eat, others can spot the predators*. Being in a group helps them to be safe from the predators*.
Did You Know?
Flamingos only sleep on one leg!
*'s at the end of the word are in the Glossary.
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Caribbean Flamingos
Now let's talk about me the Caribbean Flamingo!
Physical Appearance and Anatomy
Caribbean flamingos are slightly smaller than the greater flamingos. Normally, they are 3-4 ft. tall. They also have a wingspan of 4.9 feet, and they weigh 5 pounds on an average.
Habitat
Caribbean Flamingos can be found in places like the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Galapagos Islands. They like warm places because that’s where they find their food.
Diet
Caribbean flamingos are the brightest color of flamingos because of what they eat. They mainly eat insects, worms and vegetation.
*'s at the end of the word means they are in the Glossary
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Caribbean Flamingos
Predators and Captivity
There are around 850,000 Caribbean flamingos in the world! The Caribbean flamingos are hunted by many animals, these animals are called predators. Some of their predators are jaguars, raccoons and birds of prey.
Did You Know?
The name flamingo came from the Latin word 'flame.'
*'s at the end of a word means they are in the Glossary
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Chilean Flamingos
Now let’s talk about the Chilean flamingos.
Description and Anatomy
Chilean flamingos are normally 3-4 feet tall and weigh about 6 pounds. Their wingspan is about 2-3 feet long. They have a much lighter color than the Greater Flamingos. Their color is a very pale pink. Their legs are long and grey with pink knees.
Diet
Their diet is mainly algae and other small animals in the ponds. They are filter feeders. Filter feeders pick up big gulps of water and eat all the things they need and put everything else back in the water. Most of their diet can only be found in warm climates.
Habitat
Chilean flamingos can be found in warm tropical habitats like South America. They love to feed in shallow muddy lakes. They live in colonies with up to thousands of birds.
*'s at the end of a word means they are in the Glossary
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Chilean Flamingos
Predators and Captivity
Chilean flamingos don’t have many predators in the wild, except humans. They can live up to fifty years in the wild, and forty in captivity. These flamingos are not hunted as much as some of the other flamingos. Their only natural predators are humans.
Did You Know?
Chilean Flamingos have narrow wings and can only be found in South America!
*'s at the end of the word means it is in the Glossary
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Andean Flamingo
Finally let’s talk about the smallest flamingos of the group today, the Andean Flamingo.
Description and Anatomy
The Andean flamingo is 1-4 feet tall, and weighs only up to eight pounds. Their wingspan reaches 3-4 feet long. They have a very light pink coloring with darker patches on the head, neck and in the upper wing area. They are well known because of their size and because of the black tips on their wings.
Diet
They have a beak that is yellow with a black tip. They are also filter feeders. They use their curved beaks to scoop up the water and filter out what they need. They find what they need in lakes and Lagoons in South America.
*'s that are after the word means that it is in the Glossary
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Andean Flamingo
Habitat
Andean Flamingos can be found in some parts of South America like the lower parts of Bolivia and Peru, and the upper parts of Chile and Argentina.
Predators and Captivity
The Andean Flamingo has few natural predators like birds of prey and foxes. Due to their small size they become an easy prey for these animals.
Did you know?
Andean Flamingos have a special call that they make. The call sounds almost like a goose's honk. They make the sound by stretching their necks up, and flipping their tails.
*'s at the end of the word means that they are in the Glossary
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Glossary
Average- What most of the Flamingos do or have.
Crustaceans- Creatures that live in the water and have a hard shell, with arms with pinchers and four sets of legs.
Species-A group of animals with similar body and food features
Omnivores-Animals that eats a mix of plants and meats
Captivity- A special place, like a zoo where animals can live safely with no predators
Filter Feeding- Where animals take in big gulps of water and pick out the food and eat it, letting out all of the other stuff it took in.
Individual- A single bird or animal
Predators- Someone or an animal that eats this particular animal
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Sources
http://www.theanimalfiles.com/birds/flamingos/caribbean_flamingo.html
http://people.ku.edu/~awalla18/portfolio/Flamingos/typesofflamingos.htm
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