Flamingo — Nakuru national park · 105

Long-legged filter feeders whose bent bills and carotenoid diets turn alkaline lakes into pink cities. Dietary carotenoids from brine shrimp and cyanobacteria deposit in feathers. A white flamingo is usually a diet or age story, not a different species. The bird feeds with the head inverted. The upper jaw is the mobile filter; lamellae comb a soup of algae and invertebrates.

Are lesser flamingos the East African pink clouds? Yes. Phoeniconaias minor can number more than a million on Rift soda lakes when Arthrospira blooms. Breeding still hinges on sites like Lake Natron. Salt pans and Tour du Valat management rebuilt a greater flamingo colony that now seeds Mediterranean satellites.

Do American flamingos still belong in Florida? A breeding population has returned to Florida Bay after a long absence. Some birds are escapees; others are wild Caribbean wanderers — the mix is a current field argument. Why do Andean flamingos look more at risk? High-Andean salars face lithium and water extraction. Three highland species share a small set of lakes.