Which animals eat flamingos

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Subscriber Exclusive Content. Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars? How viruses shape our world. The era of greyhound racing in the U. See how people have imagined life on Mars through history. See More. United States Change. The nest needs to be high enough to protect the egg from flooding and from the occasional intense heat at ground level. The top of the mound is concave so that any egg laid does not fall off. Neighboring nests are built very close, and bickering between nest mound occupants is common.

Prior to breeding, the male is selected by the female, and he then closely follows behind her in shallow water. The pair tends to stay together as long as there is reproductive success.

If not, then the female may choose a new mate. Flamingos lay one large, chalky white egg in a mud nest build like a sand castle by the parents. A parent sits on the mound, reaches over, picks up mud and dribbles it onto the nest, which can reach 2 feet 0.

At hatching, a flamingo chick has gray down feathers and is the size of a tennis ball. It also has a straight, pink bill and swollen pink legs, both of which turn black within a week. After hatching, the chick stays on the nest mound for 5 to 12 days. Flamingos share this trait with pigeons, doves, and certain penguins. Both males and females can feed the chick this way, and even flamingos that are not the parents can act as foster-feeders.

The begging calls the hungry chick makes are believed to stimulate the secretion of the milk. As the parents feed their chicks the crop milk, they are drained of their color—so much so that their plumage turns a pale pink or white! The parents gain this color back eventually as the chicks become independent and eat on their own. By the time a chick leaves the nest, it can already walk and swim quite well. But how do they find their offspring in such a large and noisy group?

Chicks and their parents recognize one another through their distinctive calls! Adult flamingos have few natural predators, as they tend to live in inhospitable places where the lagoons are pretty bare of vegetation, so few other birds or animals come there.

But flamingo chicks are sometimes preyed upon by eagle species. Guests are instantly drawn to our flamingo flock as they enter the San Diego Zoo. With their flamboyant color and amusing behaviors, flamingos have been on hand to welcome Zoo guests since , about 10 years after the Zoo grounds opened to visitors. They are our unofficial ambassadors!

Over time, people have used flamingos for food and medicine. But as with many wild species, the threat of habitat loss due to road construction and housing development is causing some populations to be threatened.

Lead bullets are now prohibited in that area. The Andean flamingo is considered the rarest of the flamingo species. It lives high in the mountains of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Although adult flamingos aren't often attacked, birds of prey will snatch young flamingos as well as eggs. Chicks may be taken right out of the nest before they're able to walk. Young flamingos who can walk are kept in small groups guarded by a few adults, but enterprising birds of prey find ways to attack them. Young flamingos are vulnerable for quite some time, since it takes three to five years to reach adult size. Common avian predators include white-headed, lappet-faced and Egyptian vultures, as well as Marabou storks, eagles and kites.

Wild cats take advantage of the fact that flamingos, especially young ones, have few natural defenses and need to run a few feet before they can fly. For the most part, cats hunt and attack juvenile birds or those that are still in the nest, although they may catch and kill slow-moving or ill adult birds. Jaguars, leopards, lions, cheetahs and the smaller margay, or tree ocelot, are all known to prey on flamingos. Several members of the Canis lupus, or dog, family prey on flamingos when given the chance.

Like other predators, they choose to attack mainly young birds, although they will also eat older flamingos if they can catch them.