Chilean Flamingo

Most of the photos I have been taking recently have had green backgrounds, as usually there have been green fields in the distance. I really needed a break from that, so dug into my archives last night for two of the three photos posted this morning.

This photo was taken on 6 October 2015, at the Calgary Zoo. This was the last time I visited, as my usual parking lot then closed for the winter. SInce then, road construction and bridge replacement have been going on and will continue into 2017. The drive to the north entrance of the Zoo is definitely out of my driving comfort zone, so I probably won't be seeing the Zoo for a long time yet.

"Nestled at the very heart of the Calgary Zoo, these pink beauties might seem dainty, but don’t let their slender bodies and fancy feathers fool you. Flamingos are tough cookies. They can stand on one leg for hours and, in the wild, withstand extreme conditions – including stifling summers and frigid winter temperatures that dip to -30 C.

In the wild, Chilean Flamingos live near salt lakes, coastal mudflats and marshes. Their diet consists of algae and small aquatic animals.

If flamingos don’t eat pink food, their feathers turn white. At the zoo, special diet supplements keep the birds’ feathers vibrant." From the Calgary Zoo Website.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_flamingo

"When not eating or preening, flamingos will sleep, facing the wind, head tucked under their wings, usually standing on one leg, with the other leg tucked up under their feathers. They do this to conserve warmth, whether they're in a warm or cool climate."

Read more: Information on Pink Flamingos | eHow.com www.ehow.com/about_5082532_information-pink-flamingos.htm...

"Chilean flamingos live in large flocks in the wild and require crowded conditions to stimulate breeding. During breeding season, males and females display a variety of behaviors to attract mates, including head flagging—swiveling their heads from side-to-side in tandem—and wing salutes, where the wings are repeatedly opened and closed. Males and females cooperate in building a pillar-shaped mud nest, and both incubate the egg laid by the female. Upon birth, the chicks have gray plumage; they don't gain adult coloration for two-three years. Both male and female flamingos can produce a nutritious milk-like substance in their crop gland to feed their young.

The Chilean flamingo's bill is equipped with comb-like structures that enable it to filter food—mainly algae and plankton—from the water of the coastal mudflats, estuaries, lagoons and salt lakes where it lives." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamingo