Phoenicopterus ruber | Reserva de la biosfera Ría Celestún, México | November 2018
Flamingos are very social birds; they live in colonies whose population can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos: avoiding predators, maximizing food intake, and using scarcely suitable nesting sites more efficiently. Nevertheless it is not difficult to see two of them fight to contend a partner or some food, and it is precisely on these occasions that they "swell" to look bigger!
Phoenicopterus Ruber
Phoenicopterus Ruber
Phoenicopterus ruber | Ría Celestún, Yucatán, Mexico | November 2018
Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp and blue-green algae as well as larva, small insects, mollusks and crustaceans making them omnivores. Their bills are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae, which line the mandibles, and the large, rough-surfaced tongue.
