The flamingo is a beautiful bird. It has cute pink feathers all over its body. Its beak also has a unique shape, which is bending downward. This bird also has long and thin legs. All those unique parts of this bird make us ask this question. What do flamingos eat? Is there any relation between what this bird eats and its unique body parts? Here, you are going to learn more about the food this beautiful bird eats. Are you ready? Let’s go!
What Kind of Animals are Flamingos?
To find out what kind of food flamingos eat, you should know what type of animal flamingos is. Is it a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore? The answer is an omnivore. Yes, this bird eats everything. It is not a picky eater. It eats plants and small animals in the place where it lives. Are you curious about what kind of animal or plant that flamingo eats? Continue reading below to find more about this pink bird.
What Do Flamingos Eat Every Day?
As omnivorous birds, flamingos eat everything, vegetables, and meat. Here is some of the food this bird eats every day.
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Shrimp
Shrimp live in the freshwater where flamingos live. Therefore, it also becomes the food of flamingos. Interestingly, most of the shrimp that this bird eats have a pink body color. Maybe, flamingos choose it because of its color? Is this food causing it to have pink feathers? You will find it later.
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Krill
Do you know what krill is? Krill is a crustacean that looks like a shrimp. However, this creature only lives in oceans and seas. Moreover, its living place is 50 meters deep. So, how can flamingos eat this creature when this bird lives in the freshwater area?
It happens when krill are accidentally carried over to the freshwater area, like lakes or lagoons because of a rare occasion, such as a storm or tornado that sucks the krill from the sea and drops them on the land. When that happens, flamingos don’t pick what their food is. If they find krill, they will eat it.
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Crabs
Flamingos also eat crabs. However, not all flamingos eat crab. There are only known three flamingo species that love crabs. They are Greater, Caribbean, and Chilean flamingos. Compared to other flamingos, these three eat more crabs and shellfish on their daily menu. They also eat lobster, barnacles, prawns, crayfish, and such.
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Fish
Fish also is one of the foods that flamingos like. However, similar to krill, it only eats when it appears in the place where flamingos live. And, among many flamingos species, there is one that eats more fish than others. Yes, we have another Greater flamingo here. This big guy has a very big appetite for fish. So, if it found the fish in its home, it will catch and eat it.
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Vegetables/Plants
Flamingos love shrimp, crabs, and meat. However, this bird also does not forget to eat vegetables for its healthy diet. Many of them even prefer to eat plants. Blue-green algae and red algae are two well-known plants in the flamingos’ diet. And, this is the right time for you to ask this question. What color are flamingos? Why? The plants are related to this bird’s feather colors.
What Makes Flamingos Feather Pink?
What do flamingos eat that makes their color pink? The answer is algae. Many people think that shrimp are the reasons why flamingo has a pink color. Yes, the shrimp type this bird eats has a pinkish color on its body. And, some scientists also agree that the color of shrimp bodies also affects the change of feather color on flamingos. But, the algae are the reason this bird has a pink feathers.
Inside algae, you can find a substance called beta carotene. You also can find it in vegetables that have a bright orange color, like a carrot. Because flamingos eat the algae a lot, the beta carotene is absorbed into their body and changes the color into a pink hue.
What is the Color of Baby Flamingo?
By the way, do you know what color a baby flamingo is when it is just born? The answer is light or dull gray. Sometimes, you also can find white baby flamingos. However, during this age, the baby flamingos can’t eat the algae or shrimp. It only eats crop milk from its parents.
It is not real milk. But, it is a part of the digestive system of flamingos and other birds that allows them to store food there. The food will be digested partially. After that, the parents will feed it to the baby. This way, the beta-carotene has already been absorbed by the parents. And, the baby doesn’t get it, so its feathers don’t change.
Baby flamingos eat crop milk for about two months. Then, they can find the food by themselves. That is the time when the baby starts to absorb beta carotene. The change in their feather color starts at this moment. Slowly, the baby absorbs the beta carotene and gets the pink feather.
What Does Flamingo Eat in the winter?
Most of the time, we see flamingos live in warm places. However, this bird also can live in subtropical areas. Therefore, they also experience the snowy winter. So, what do flamingos eat in this cold season? As we all know, the river or lake is freezing. Plus, shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans also are not that active in this season.
The answer is they change their diet to only fish, which still grows abundantly in this weather. However, most of the flamingo species decide to migrate to a warmer place. In the new warmer place, flamingos can find the similar diet they get during summer in their original habitat. So, it has no problem with the food.
What Does Flamingo Sound Like?
Why you also need to know what do flamingos sound like? The sound they make is different, depending on what they do. Currently, there are two types of sounds that this bird makes during a specific activity, which is when they fly and eat.
When flamingos fly, it creates a unique sound like geese. It sounds like producing a “ka-ha” voice from its beak. Flamingos speak a lot during their flight. It is necessary to communicate with other flamingos, especially their mates. This bird needs to do this on the long journey during the migration period.
However, the flamingo becomes quiet when it eats. You can only hear it when you get close to this bird. When it is eating, it produces a soft sound, like the “kuk-kuk” or “ke-kuk” sound. Try it yourself. Maybe, you can imitate how flamingos sing.
Are flamingos carnivores herbivores or omnivores?
In conclusion, it is not possible to determine whether flamingos are herbivores or omnivores. Flamingos are not strict herbivores because they eat crustaceans and fish. And they are not strict omnivores because they do not eat plants.
Final Words
So, are you having fun learning more about flamingo food? What do flamingos eat? You learn not only the types of food that this bird eats. However, you also can find other things about this bird. You know what makes it have pink feathers, the baby characteristic, and many more.
Try to learn more about flamingos yourself. We believe you will find many surprising things in this bird. Who knows, maybe you can find something new that other people didn’t know?!
