Can Flamingo’s Fly? Flamingo Facts for Kids

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What is a Flamingo?

Flamingos are a type of wading bird.  They are part of the Phoenicopteridae family of birds. The word flamingo comes from the Latin word flamenco meaning fire.  It refers to their bright color

What do Flamingos Looks Like?

Flamingos are a very recognizable species of bird.  They are known for their long necks and pink coloring. Flamingos have long skinny legs.  They are often seen standing on one foot while in the water.

Where do Flamingos Live?

They live on many continents, They live in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia

There are 6 species of flamingos.

1. Lesser Flamingo – lives in Africa and India

2. Greater Flamingo – lives in Africa, Europe, and Asia

3. Chilean Flamingo- lives in South America

4. James’s Flamingo- lives in South America

5. Andean Flamingo- lives in South America

6. American Flamingo- Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, and Galapagos Islands

 The Greater Flamingo is the largest flamingo and can be up to 5ft tall.

The Lesser Flamingo is the smallest flamingo and can be up to 3ft tall.

Flamingo Facts for Kids

Flamingos are omnivores meaning they eat both plants and meat.

Flamingos eat shrimp, small crustaceans, snails, algae, and fly larvae.

Flamingos catch food by dipping their heads into the water, turning their bills upside down, and sucking up water.  Then they filter out the water from the sides of their mouth and keep the food in.

Flamingos are pink or orange in color.

They get their color from the food they eat.

The shellfish and algae they eat contain carotenoids.  The carotenoids make their feathers pink or orange.

Fun Fact- Carrots also contain a lot of carotenoids.  If you ate a diet of all carrots your skin would turn an orange-like color!

Flamingos like to stand on one leg.  No one knows exactly why they like that.

Flamingos are social animals and live in large groups called flocks.

Flamingos can fly.

Flamingos need a running start to fly.

A group of flamingos flying is called a flock.

Flamingos can fly up to 35 miles per hour in flocks.

Flamingos build their nests out of the mud.

Baby Flamingos

When a mother flamingo lays one egg at a time.  Both the mother flamingo and father flamingo look after the egg until it hatches.

A flamingo egg hatches in about 30 days. A baby flamingo is called a chick.

Chicks are born gray or white.  They reach their full color by age 3.