The Flamingo's Diet
There are six species of flamingo in the world: Lesser flamingo, Greater flamingo, Caribbean flamingo, James' flamingo, Andean flamingo and Chilean flamingo. All of these species of flamingo are filter feeders, meaning that they use their beaks like a strainer to filter their food from the water. Other than their distinct long legs and curved beaks, flamingos are known for their colorful feathers, which can be white, orange, red or pink. The flamingo's feather colors are a result of the food it eats.
Other People Are Reading
-
Bill Shape
-
Greater flamingos use their bills to filter small fish from the water. The shape of the flamingo's bill varies depending on the species. Deep-keeled bills are made to filter small particles from the water and leave behind larger particles. Shallow-keeled bills are made to filter larger particles from the water. Those species with deep-keeled bills such as Andean, James' and Lesser flamingos feed mostly on red and blue algae as well as single-celled plants called diatoms. Chilean, Greater and Caribbean flamingos have a shallow-keeled bill, and because of this bill shape, they feed mostly on crustaceans, mollusks, small fish and insects.
Pigmentation
-
Carotenoids found in shrimp and algae are responsible for the flamingo's feather coloring. Flamingos diets are naturally high in alpha and beta carotenoid pigments. These pigments come from foods in the flamingo's natural diet such as red or blue algae and shrimp-like crustaceans. One of the most common pigments in the flamingo's diet is called canthaxanthin. When in captivity, pigmentation is often added to the flamingos' diet in the form of supplements in order to maintain their bright coloring.
-
Filtering
-
Flamingos feed standing up in the water. A flamingo feeds standing up in the water. It lowers its head into the water in an upside-down position, collecting water in its bill. It then uses its tongue to push the water through lamellae--soft finger-shaped structures within the beak--and toothlike structures outside of the beak. Both the teeth and the lamellae serve to filter the food particles from the water. The food is trapped in the mouth while the excess water squirts out, leaving the flamingo with a mouthful of food.
Crop Milk
-
Adult flamingos feed crop milk to their young. Adult flamingos feed their young a liquid called "crop milk." Crop milk is a natural secretion from the adult flamingo's digestive tract which its body is stimulated to produce due to the hormone prolactin. This hormone is produced as a result of the chirping noise the baby flamingos make when they call for food. Crop milk can be produced by male and female flamingos. It is red in color and rich in protein.
Greater Flamingo
-
Greater flamingos feed on insect larvae, small fish, and shrimp-like crustaceans. The Greater flamingo is the most widely distributed of all the flamingo species and the most common at zoos and wildlife parks. They are found in parts of Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East. Greater flamingos are omnivores and mostly feed on insects, insect larvae, small fish and invertebrates found in the water. The invertebrates that they eat--shrimp-like crustaceans--are the reason for their pink coloring.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit flamingo image by Lisa Batty from Fotolia.com Flamingo 2 image by Angelika Möthrath from Fotolia.com shrimp image by Liz Van Steenburgh from Fotolia.com flamingo image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com Baby Flamingo Just Learning How to Walk image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com flamingo,pink,pink flamingo,bird,animal,fauna,lowr image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
