Happy Pink Flamingo Day! Let’s See the Inspiration

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Yallowitz

So, today is the National Pink Flamingo Day, which is about these guys:

Not Real Flamingos

I thought it would be more interesting to do a post about the real thing.  After all, flamingos are one of the most identifiable and popular birds around.  Their pink coloration, long necks, and how they stand on one leg are practically iconic in the animal kingdom.  They’re also filter feeders and eat by straining food from mud, which involves eating with their heads upside down.  Really cool.

Also, none of the 6 species are endangered.  That means, we can dive right into the pictures (all found with Google Image Search) and videos.

Greater Flamingo

This is the Greater Flamingo, which has the greatest range.  It’s also the largest. They’re found in Africa, Southern Europe, and South/Southwest Asia.

Lesser Flamingo

The Lesser Flamingo is found in Sub-Saharan Africa and western India.  These are actually the smallest flamingo species.

Chilean Flamingo

Found in South America, the Chilean Flamingo is considered near threatened.  This is because they live in salt lagoons and soda lakes, which are at risk of pollution.  Some have been introduced to the Netherlands.

James’s Flamingo

The James’s Flamingo has more yellow in its beak than other species.  The live in the higher altitude plateaus of the Andes like in Peru and Bolivia.  They were thought to be extinct until a colony was found in 1956.

Andean Flamingo

The Andean Flamingo is closely related to the James’s Flamingo.  They live in the same region too.  You can see in the pictures that they differ in beak color.  This one also has a deeper mandible than other species.  Mining has made this species vulnerable.

American Flamingo

The American or Caribbean Flamingo is the only one that inhabits North America, but it isn’t exclusive to the continent.  It can be found in the Caribbean, Florida, Belize, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezula.

Here’s an informative video to learn more:

About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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26 Responses to Happy Pink Flamingo Day! Let’s See the Inspiration

  1. coldhandboyack says:
    May 29, 2022 at 8:57 am

    Such interesting creatures. Must be an odd story about how they found the Netherlands.

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  2. John W. Howell says:
    May 29, 2022 at 9:54 am

    I never realized there were so many kinds of Flamingos. Thanks for the educaation.

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. noelleg44 says:
    May 29, 2022 at 11:27 am

    I had no idea there were different species of flamingoes (my son called them dofingos). We saw thousands of them at Lake Naivasha in Kenya (the poop smell was overwhelming – would be a great source of fertilizer) and also some trained marching flamingoes in Nassau in the Bahamas. They are fairly smart birds!

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  4. V.M.Sang says:
    May 30, 2022 at 5:43 am

    They are fascinating birds. I hadn’t realised how many different kinds there are. I hope those that are nearly endangered get the protection they need.
    However, it always concerns me to read of foreign species being introduced. One would have thought humans would have learned by now. Think about rabbits and cacti in Australia, and the American grey squirrel in the UK that has opractically wiped out out native red squirrel (which in my opinion is much prettier).

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  5. Naomi Edmondson says:
    May 30, 2022 at 9:55 am

    This was a fascinating read. I was aware but had forgotten how flamingoes were filter feeders. The imagery of eating upside down made me giggle. But what’s even more cool about this is just how many breeds there are, like someone else in the comments mentioned. It’s neat they’re as distinct as they are, even among the same species. Considering there are variants of just about everything on the planet, I don’t know why I didn’t even think to consider flamingoes might fall under the category too but thank you for adding to my repertoire of knowledge on such an aptly named day. ^_^

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    • Charles Yallowitz says:
      May 30, 2022 at 10:41 am

      Glad you enjoyed the post. I only have it locked into my memory because my son watched ‘The Wild Kratts’ religiously when he was younger. The flamingo episode was a daily event for a while. I’m struggling to think of animals that have no variants, especially since I found that even manatees have a few species. Platypus and binturong are the only ones I can think of now.

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  6. Jennie says:
    May 31, 2022 at 5:40 am

    Beautiful birds!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Carol Balawyder says:
    May 31, 2022 at 10:03 am

    Loved this post, especially the flying with flamingoes video. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Pingback: #5 of 2022: The Flamingo Post! | Legends of Windemere

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