World of the Fabulous Flamingo Quiz

Answer: Phoenicopteriformes

The Phoenicopteriformes are an order of birds, all of which but the modern flamingo are extinct. The modern freshwater diving birds, Grebes, are of the order Podicipedidae and are the closet relative still living, to the flamingo.

Answer: Chilean

The Chilean flamingo was the first to be born in a European zoo, which made headlines in 1958, and following this were some greater flamingos added to the zoo in 1959. Within the size recognised species of the flamingo, the Chilean flamingo is related closest to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo. To stop unwanted crossbreeding from occurring, it was decided that the Basel Zoo would only keep greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) in the 1980s. and by 1990 a new enclosure was constructed. Hundreds of greater flamingos have been hatched at Basel Zoo since its opening. Basel zoo has found that the typical lifespan of a flamingo in captivity is around 60 years, whereas in the wild it is around 30-40.

Answer: Tanzania

Lake Natron is a salt lake located in Tanzania's Arusha Region, in the northeast of the country. The conditions of this lake will kill a human and others, such as bats, with those who have fallen into it preserved in the pose they fell or flew in, due to the strong presence of sodium carbonate in its waters. The lake is oversaturated with salt and has a pH of around 9-10.5. These conditions however do not stop the lesser flamingo from breeding here, with around 75% of the world's population being hatched here. The water level must be just right. If it is too high, the flamingos cannot construct their nests and if too low, predators can get to the nests on foot. Once the water level is just right, the flamingos lay their eggs safely, surrounded by the protection of the corrosive water.

The lesser flamingo's legs have evolved to be leathery and tough, and can take the level of salt in the water.

Answer: Greater

With a name synonymous to his species, Greater, the greater flamingo, was introduced to the Adelaide Zoo in 1933. Greater lived until 2014, and was known to be friendly to visitors of the zoo. It was never determined whether Greater was a male or a female.

Answer: Nostril

Flamingos osmoregulate in one way through their salt gland. This gland is located in their beaks, and it expels excess salt through their nostril opening. Flamingos will drink by sucking up water with their bill. They then tilt their head back to settle any sediments, then strain the water they have gulped though a structure similar to that of a comb, which is in their beak. This filters out any small objects they may have found, or any algae remaining. When flamingos are eating or drinking, they propel the water into their mouths with their tongue. They then use their bill to filter out any pieces of food, or anything that have caught that they do not want.

Flamingos are classed as "filter feeders" which means they can only ingest algae, plankton or small insects or fish. The flamingo will then swallow its filtered meal, then expel the remaining salt from its nostrils. The tongue can also help to filter out the salt, although the nostril is the main avenue for this.

Answer: Harry Berkeley James

Harry Berkeley James (1846-1892) was an English naturalist who travelled to Peru to see the birds there, and collect butterflies and moths. In 1885, James published a pamphlet regarding his findings of the birds in Chile. James's flamingo ("Phoenicoparrus jamesi") is a relatively small flamingo, being around 3 feet (1 metre) in height.

It's the smallest species of New World flamingo. It is distinguished by its short bill which is yellow with a black tip. It is one of the four species of flamingo to be found in the wild of South America, the other three being the American flamingo, Chilean flamingo and Andean flamingo.

Answer: Carotenoids

A lot of plants produce carotenoids naturally, which are red, orange or yellow pigments. Carotenoids are what give tomatoes their red colour, and carrots their orange. The microscopic algae that brine shrimp eat have carotenoids, and as the flamingo eats both the algae and the shrimp, it ingests enough of the carotenoids to turn its plumage pink, as it metabolizes the pigments. The word "flamingo" comes from the Spanish or Latin word, "flamenco," which means "fire."

Captive flamingos are fed a special diet of meals containing beta-carotene or canthaxanthin additives to give them the pink colouring, so that they would look as pink as they do in the wild.

Answer: True

Although flamingos are more commonly photographed standing on the ground alone or in groups, flamingos can fly. Flamingos are known to migrate as the seasons change, migrate to breed and find areas with lower altitudes for winter for warmth.

Answer: To use less muscle energy

Flamingos are capable of standing on one leg for a long period of time, to the point where they can comfortably fall asleep. Flamingos use more muscle power whilst standing on two legs, so remaining standing on one leg is less exhausting. Because birds lose body heat via their limbs, standing on one leg and tucking their other one up around their body means that the flamingo will also keep warmer as it sleeps.

Answer: They wait for the correct amount of rainfall

Also known as the Caribbean flamingo, the American flamingo is one of the largest extant species of the bird. Breeding season varies between populations of this species, however adequate rainfall appears to be a significant que for breeding to start. The rainfall must be significant enough to provide an acceptable amount of food supply.

All flamingos are social birds and live in colonies, sometimes numbering into the thousands. Both males and females perform elaborate displays to attract mates. Flamingos are (generally) monogamous, and all females lay a single egg.

Flamingos in general appear to be sensitive to oncoming rain. On the dry coast of Namibia, Africa, with the greater flamingo appearing just before the rain appears on the usually dry Etosha Pan. It is theorised that they are sensitive to the small drops in barometric pressure that signify that rain is approaching.

Answer: Andean

The Andean flamingo unfortunately has a conservation status of Vulnerable. These flamingos live in the Andean mountains, and feed in the salt lakes high in the mountains, throughout Peru and Chile during winter. They migrate to the wetlands in the northwest of Argentina in summer. Andean flamingos generally have a paler plumage of pink compared to other flamingos.

Its wings also have more black plumage compared to other species, and its beak is a paler yellow, with a black tip that is more extensive in comparison to its other six extant relatives.

Its closest relative is James's flamingo.

Answer: Megapaloelodus

When megapaloelodus was still extant, it was a distant relative to the modern flamingo. It was different to the modern flamingo in that it had evolved a different ankle structure to its modern relative. This ankle may have permitted the megapaloelodus' leg to lock, allowing the bird to stand for extended periods of time, although the assumption regarding this precise function is not for certain.

It is not known how their bills worked, and whether they had a similar filtering system as modern flamingos do. What is known is that megapaloelodus was long-legged but able to swim easily, and was a wading bird.

It was around 15-20% larger than the average American flamingo.

Answer: False

Flamingo chicks are hatched born gray or white, with fluffy plumage to keep them warm. Three years can pass before these chicks have acquired their pink or red plumage. As a flamingo mother feeds its young with crop milk, that is, a secretion of the thin lining of the crop (esophagus) of a parent flamingo, also from the glands of the flamingo's upper digestive tract. This is also seen in male emperor penguins, and doves and pigeons have a similar mechanism to feed their young. The crop milk is pink in colouration, and when an adult flamingo is finished feeding its young, it can lose its own pink colour, with the carotenoids being drained into their young's mouth to give them nutrition.

There is a rarity in flamingo plumage regarding the black flamingo. This bird has melanism, which means its plumage is black due to the overproduction of melanin in the bird's biological system.

Answer: Andean

The greater flamingo has pale pink legs, the American flamingo has dark pink legs, the Chilean flamingo has grey legs with pink joints, James's flamingo has red legs and the lesser flamingo has pink legs. The Andean flamingo is the only flamingo species to exhibit yellow legs and feet.

The Andean flamingo is one of the three flamingo species to inhabit South America, the other two being the Chilean flamingo and James's flamingo.

Answer: The Bahamas

Due to the large amount of flamingos breeding in the Bahamas, the flamingo has become the national bird of the country. The French brought pigs to the Bahamas island of Inagua, and they developed a taste for flamingo eggs. The American based National Audubon Society took an interest in preserving the extant birds, and the Audubon Society established the Society for the Protection of Flamingos, which snowballed into the Bahamas National Trust of 1959.

The flamingos and their breeding grounds in the Bahamas have since been protected. Now flamingos breed all across the Bahamas and not just in Inagua.