General Jose de San Martin in 1820 saw a flock of pink flamingos and considered this a good sign. Red and white became the colors of the Peruvian Legion that liberated Peru. White color symbolizes peace, dignity and progress, red symbolizes war and courage. The flag was approved on February 25, 1825, and people still believe in the dedication of these beautiful and majestic birds, whose name is flamingos ...
Dance of fire
As soon as flamingos are not called - a firebird, a "fiery" bird, a sunset child, a morning dawn bird ... The color of their soft feathers can vary from pale or pale pink to fiery orange and even raspberry, tinted in all shades of the sunset sky. By the way, the very name of the bird “flamingo” comes from the Latin word “flamma”, which means “fire”.
Flamingos are the most graceful and elegant, long-legged and long-necked birds on Earth. They are considered a symbol of grace and romantic love, but for some reason, fairy tales about them are very sad. According to one of them, the plumage of flamingos turned red when, saving people from starvation in a year of terrible drought, noble birds began to tear pieces of meat from themselves ... Blood flowed on snow-white feathers, and red color became a reward to good birds for their dedication. According to another legend, the long legs of a flamingo turned red from the bites of evil snakes that envied the beautiful black and white “stockings” of birds in which they came to the ball.
And with such beauty, these birds are very, very unpretentious - they are able to endure the most difficult natural conditions. So what is the most amazing thing about them? Feathers? Neck? Beak or legs? These birds are also very mysterious creatures ...
Where do flamingos live?
Flamingos come in four species. All of them are at least ten million years old, and once they were found in Europe, Australia and America. Today, flamingos can be found in parts of Africa, India, South America and southern Europe.
Flamingos are very faithful; these are birds with a highly developed social life, forming strong alliances and taking care of babies. Usually flamingos live on the shores of small reservoirs, in shallow waters and lagoons. On salt lakes, the salt concentration may be such that no one can withstand it except flamingos.
The curved beak of a flamingo in the kingdom of birds has no analogues; for food, it is he who gives them the opportunity to filter water, as whales do. Common flamingos pick small crustaceans and mollusks in shallow water. And he does it very peculiarly. During feeding, the bird gracefully arches its neck, as if trying to slightly wrap it with a screw. She does this so that the beak lowered into the water turns upside down: the upper part is at the bottom, and the lower is at the top.
Contrary to the prevailing legends, the color of the flamingo feathers has a pink color precisely due to the nutrients contained in the food. Flamingos eat shrimp, but the color of the plumage of the bird comes from blue-green algae. Despite its name, blue-green algae can be red, purple, brown, yellow, and even orange.
Persistent Tin Soldiers
Many people wonder why flamingos stand on one leg? Yes, because at this time they warm another. Flamingos have long legs, no feathers on them, and the heat, especially in windy weather, leaves very quickly. Standing on one leg of a flamingo is used to reduce heat loss in the wind. Therefore, birds try to keep their legs alternately in the warmth of their own plumage. What from the outside seems an extremely inconvenient and difficult position, flamingos do not require absolutely any effort. A special physiological device prevents bending of the supporting leg, due to which the leg remains elongated even without the use of force.
The birds are sleeping in the same position. And by the way, only one half of the pack is sleeping, and the other is awake, like dolphins. Flamingos take off hard and reluctantly (only in case of danger or when going for food). They scatter for a long time and before taking off, flamingos run on shallow water 5-6 meters. In the sky, flamingos fly in the shape of a cross, stretching their neck and legs.
Children of pink flamingos
Flamingo chicks are born helpless, but soon, after two or three days, they become quite independent. In order to build a nest, birds collect silt, clay, various plant debris and ram it all with their feet. They carry one egg a year, laying it on a mound of earth or silt. Both parents incubate the egg in turn, and both secrete bright red, highly nutritious "bird milk" from the throat, which feed the chicks for the first two months.
Flamingo - one of two types of birds, "giving milk"; the second are pigeons. The ugly ducklings that have left the parent nest change fluff for white plumage, which turns pink as they grow older. Flamingos become adult handsome by the age of three, and males and females are colored the same. Flamingos have a lifespan of fifty years.
Flamingos in the Emirates
Flamingo flocks are frequent guests in the UAE, stopping twice a year in the country during migration flights and breeding. One of the largest flamingo populations in Arabia was discovered in Abu Dhabi on the coast near Musaffah and in the Bu As Sayyaf Marine Sanctuary. In Dubai, these majestic birds live in the lagoon of Ras Al Khor. Every morning, when I go to school, I see beautiful flamingos in the shallow water between the emirates of Ajman and Umm al-Quwain.
Today, flocks of flamingos in the UAE are going to follow from space. In the emirate of Abu Dhabi, a program has begun to track the migration routes of pink flamingos, their breeding sites and nutrition using artificial earth satellites. Ornithologists have already attached special sensors to the five birds that live on the lake in the AlVatba region east of the capital of the UAE, sending signals to space. A similar project is being implemented for the first time in Arabia. And I must say, on time ... Flamingos become an "endangered species."
The worldwide reduction of flamingo populations was caused by the usual poaching and the ruin of the nests of the pink-faced beauties. Currently, flamingos are listed in the Red Books of many countries, including the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. These amazing birds amaze with the elegant color of their plumage: from the simplest - white to amazing dark pink. Since ancient times, flamingos are considered a fabulous bird, a creature from a pipe dream and a beautiful one. Someone, probably, wants to find the pink feather of the magic “firebird”, and I want to see the simultaneous take-off of the millionth flock of pink flamingos in the blue sky ...
