Flamingos - Being Flamboyant

Due to their extraordinary shape and striking pink colouration, flamingos are immediately recognisable. There are five species of these remarkable birds. The Chilean, Andean and Puna Flamingos are confined to South America, the Lesser Flamingo ranges across Africa (but also has populations in Arabia and India), and the widespread Greater Flamingo occurs on five continents. They are thought to be one of the most ancient of bird families, with fossils having been found across the globe including Australia, where no modern-day flamingos are found despite there being ideal environmental conditions.

Think Pink

In proportion to their body, flamingos have longer legs and longer necks than any other birds. The long legs allow them to wade into water too deep for other birds, while the long neck allows them to take food from the mud at the bottom. They have webbed feet to prevent them from sinking into soft mud, and can swim (paddle) in any water body. The deep rosy-pink plumage of flamingos comes from carotenoid pigments - substances that are synthesized by algae which the birds consume either directly or through the small invertebrates that feed on algae. The flamingos break down the carotenoid with enzymes which convert them into the pigments found in their feathers and bare skin. During courtship, the pink colouration needs to be enhanced for maximum impact. so flamingos must increase their uptake of the appropriate pigments by selecting feeding places with a maximum concentration of algae.

Sophisticated Pump and Filter

Perhaps the most distinctive part of a flamingo is the unique bill. This may be oddly-shaped but is a remarkable piece of evolutionary engineering. Each half of the bill - the upper and lower mandible - is lined with rows of flexible plates, covered in fine hairs. These act as a sophisticated filter, while the tongue serves as a pump, to consume microscopic organisms. The sharp kink in the bill ensures that the flamingo does not take in too much water. For this apparatus to work, the flamingo puts its head upside down in the water. The Lesser Flamingo feeds on algae floating in the water, so its upper mandible (which is at the bottom when feeding) has air cavities which allows it to float.

Algae and Shrimp

With their feeding and structural adaptations, flamingos are able to occupy habitats too extreme for most other creatures. Their favoured food of blue-green algae (for the Lesser) and brine shrimp (for the Greater) thrive in alkaline or saline water, usually in shallow, ephemeral lakes. Many of the lakes of Africa's Rift Valley provide ideal feeding conditions for flamingos, as do the remote ‘pans' of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia.

In east Africa, huge flocks of Lesser and Greater Flamingo breed in the most inhospitable of all the Rift Valley lakes - Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. Spread out below the dramatic Oldonyo Lengai volcano, Natron is a parched dust-bowl for much of the year. This lake is fed by underground salts which are pushed upward through fissures in the earth's crust. When the rains come, this forms a saline cocktail ideal for algae, brine shrimp and flamingo alike. The surface temperatures at Lake Natron can exceed 65°C and the flamingos are also able to withstand high levels of chlorides, sulphates and fluoride.

Flamingos are highly gregarious and move about in large flocks. Individuals honk incessantly and march to and fro through the shallows. In regimented rows and chains, the flamboyant birds resemble drag queens at an outback line dance. They may be abundant in one lake today, and then vanish overnight, not to be seen for months or even years.

CC Africa's Flamingo Hotspots

Both the Lesser and Greater Flamingo feed in the lake on the floor of the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, and photographic opportunities here are simply magnificent (Lake Natron is just about 100km to the north of Ngorongoro but no tourist facilities exist there). Lake Manyara is highly attractive to flamingos when it is not too deep, and although neither species actually breed here, it is thrilling to watch the pink flocks swirling and gliding above the water. Etosha Pan and Makgadigadi Pan are breeding sites for flamingos in Namibia and Botswana, and flocks may be may be encountered on CC Africa Expeditions. In South Africa, the Greater Flamingo is fairly common at Lake St Lucia and can be seen on excursions from Phinda to the Nibela Peninsula.

Posted: Birds by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006