The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus).
This is a bird I know little of, but have always been fascinated by videos on National Geographic’s. The masses of birds observed on pans in the north of Africa has been something I thought I’d never witness.
Well I still haven’t, but, 60 odd birds in one pan is good enough for me…
This I have now ID’ed as the Greater flamingo which is the most widespread of the species. There is also the P. minor which is found Africa and India; the P. chilensis found in S America; the P. jamesi found in Peru and Argentina; the P. andinus found in the high Andes of Peru and Argentina; and the P. ruber found on the Caribbean islands, Caribbean Mexico, Belize and Galapagos islands.
A big bird which lays a single egg, eats small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms and molluscs.
Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. Sub-adult flamingos are whitish-grey and only attain the pink coloration several years into their adult life. The coloration comes from the carotenoid pigments in the organisms that live in their feeding grounds.
Although I cannot find a reference to it, the eyes of all species seems to be yellow…. why…???? They just don’t seem to fit with the rest of the bird… and now more photos to bore you….
Every time these two got near each other they raised their feathers it’s called a piloerection… now what the hell is a piloerection ??
Piloerection is the raised hairs on the shoulders, along the back and (sometimes) the tail. This is most commonly seen on dogs or cats, but it has been observed in other animals such as birds, rats and many more. This hair-raising reaction is involuntary and a result of the nervous system. Adrenaline causes the muscles to contract, and the hair straightens away from the body as a result. (Hence my title “Damn, now that’s interesting”)