Flamingos, cleaning their feathers themselves and chicks, smear a special fat, which is produced from the coccygeal gland. Thanks to this, feathers do not soak and repel water.
The color of flamingos can be more or less bright depending on the diet; The whole secret is that they feed on some crustaceans of red-orange color. Therefore, the white crystalline crust of the lakes, where flamingos live, acquires a pink shade.
In captivity in 1-2 years, the pink-red shade of the plumage usually disappears due to the monotonous food. Therefore, in zoos they must add carrots, sweet peppers, shrimps. For the whole day the bird eats the amount of food equal to 1/4 of its weight.
The beak of a flamingo is very large and roughly bent in the middle so that its top is directed downwards. Pink flamingo produces food in salt water. The peculiar structure of the beak allows birds to obtain food in a special way.
