Flamingos are a group made up of six species of colorful water birds, found in South and Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and India, with one species occasionally venturing into Florida in the United States. These highly social birds travel in flocks of thousands of individual birds. Their unusual beaks are specialized for filtering out brine shrimp and algae from the water.
History:
The lineage of flamingos is quite complicated, as they have at different times been placed in the orders Ciconiiformes (long-legged birds like storks) and Anseriformes (waterfowl like ducks and geese), before genome studies revealed they are more closely related to doves and pigeons.
The word flamingo comes from the Spanish word “flamengo” which means “flame-colored” and alludes to their bright reddish pink coloration. This color is actually the result of the flamingo’s diet, as they break down substances called carotenoids in the brine shrimp and algae they consume and turn it into pigment, which shows up in the striking reds and pinks of their feathers.