Flamingos​—“Birds of a Feather”

By Awake! correspondent in Spain

FAMILIAR yet mysterious, ungainly yet elegant, craving isolation yet incurably gregarious​—the flamingo is a beguiling bird.

Familiar to almost everyone, its singular silhouette appears in Egyptian hieroglyphics (it symbolized the color red), ancient cave paintings, and modern artwork. But the flamingos still hold some mysteries. Their breeding sites are uncommonly remote, and several of the larger ones have been discovered only in the last 50 years. And the male and female are so similar that expert ornithologists can tell them apart only by using an optical probe.

Those stiltlike legs and that elongated neck​—which it swings around and tucks under its wing as if it were made of rubber—​contribute to its ungainly image. Yet, when wading deliberately through the shallows or probing underneath the water for the small crustaceans on which it feeds, it has an undeniable elegance, an elegance that is transformed into breathtaking beauty when it takes to the air.

Few sights of nature can compare with a flock of flamingos on the wing. The red and black of their wings contrast vividly with the pink or white of their bodies.a It looks as if myriad multicolored fans were being waved in unison as the flock rises slowly into the air. And once airborne their graceful silhouettes and rhythmic movements convert them into the ballet dancers of the bird world.

Unfortunately, it is not so easy to see such a spectacle. Flamingos are sociable birds, but they prefer their own kind for company​—they are archetypal “birds of a feather.” They assiduously avoid populated areas and usually congregate in large numbers only in remote salt lakes or mud flats.

Remarkable Habits

To learn more about these fascinating birds, Awake! interviewed Manuel Rendón, director of the Fuente de Piedra Reserve, in Málaga, Spain.

Are flamingos as delicate as they look? “Not really. They thrive in inhospitable brackish lakes high up in the Andes where no other bird would venture. In African lakes that they frequent, the water is so hot and caustic that it would burn your skin, but the leathery hide of the flamingos’ legs protects them from harm.”

What is their main problem? “Undoubtedly it is that of finding a suitable place to breed. They need an undisturbed, shallow saline lake in which there are small islands where they can build their nests. These days such places are very hard to find. In fact, in the whole of the western Mediterranean, we now have only two such sites: one in Spain and one in France.b

“Here in Fuente de Piedra, they have another difficulty. The lake where they breed dries up quite quickly under the torrid Andalusian sun​—before the young are old enough to fly.”

What happens if the lake dries up completely? “Some years we have to supply water artificially so that the whole breeding colony is not lost. We have found that if we keep about 15 acres under water, that is sufficient, even though this means that the adult flamingos have to feed almost exclusively in lagoons many miles away. The flamingos will spend most of their time commuting and feeding, while leaving the young in the care of a few adult birds​—really somewhat like a kindergarten.”

What else have you discovered? “Thanks to tagging the birds, we have learned a lot more about their wanderlust. Flamingos don’t exactly migrate, but they do travel from one feeding ground to another, as their fancy takes them. Thus, one bird might spend the summer in Spain and the winter in North Africa, while another does exactly the opposite. You could call them excursionists, although their wanderings are obviously more related to food supplies than to pleasure.

“What is clear is that if they are given a bit of help and protection, the flamingos thrive. Before the 1980’s they only bred here sporadically and in relatively small numbers. By keeping human interference to a minimum and maintaining a minimal level of water in the lake until the young are able to fly, we have seen a large increase in their numbers. In 1988 we had nearly ten thousand chicks reared.”

A Marvel of Creation

Few who have seen flamingos in the wild will forget the experience. And thanks to their liking remote areas and the dedication of conservationists, there are still some favored parts of the world where large flocks can be seen in their natural environment.

The earth would be a poorer place without such marvels of creation to excite the eyes and uplift the spirit. Truly, it can be said that these “birds of a feather” add their voice to the “winged birds” that praise the name of Jehovah.​—Psalm 148:10, 13.

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[Picture Credit Line on page 25]

Photos top and bottom: Zoo de la Casa de Campo, Madrid