Pink Flamingo

The Flamingo, meaning flame-coloured in Spanish, is a large pink long-legged wading bird which makes a distinct honking sound.
The Greater Flamingo is one of six species of Flamingo that is native to Southern Europe, parts of Africa and south and southwest Asia.

The pink colour of the Flamingo is derived from beta-carotene that is present in the algae that they eat.
Flamingos filter their food through specially adapted bills which they use upside-down. The bill separates the silt from the brine-shrimp and algae that they feed on.
Flamingos live in colonies that may consist of thousands of birds. A group of Flamingos is called a ‘Flamboyance’.
Each year during the mating season, Flamingos perform elaborate dance rituals, then pair for breeding and remain together for the rest of the year.
All species of Flamingo lay just one egg. The chicks are born gray and only turn pink after about two years. The chick remains in the nest for the first ten days after which it leaves to join other chicks on the island and form a sort of nursery together.
Flamingos live in swamps and salt marshes. Their habitat in Southern Europe includes the Camargue in France, Andalusia in Spain and the Po Delta in Italy.

In Ancient Rome, Flamingos were considered a delicacy.
The Recipe book, De Re Coquinaria, written by the Roman Gourmet Apicius has three recipes for cooking Flamingo.
Martial, Suetonius and Pliny the Elder all mention Flamingos in cooking.

The best site for viewing Flamingos is the Ornithological Park at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue in the south of France.
Visitors can walk along platforms surrounding the lagoons and easily see and photograph the groups of flamingos.
Website:
- Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau

Other Sites in the Camargue are Salin-de-Giraud where the surrounding marshes and lagoons will require binoculars, as the birds are distant.