Chilean Flamingo

Chilean Flamingo (Fernando)

Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California, USA
April 2021
Member of the Flamingo Family
§A Flamboyance of Flamingos§

~True Bird Fact~ If you've never heard of flamingos before, here are some quick and fun flamingo facts: Fact 1: Flamingos have the greatest leg to body ratio of any bird. Fact 2: Flamingos get their distinctive pink coloration from their diet of algae and brine shrimp, which both have a lot of this reddish-pinkish pigment, beta carotene. Fact 3: Flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy in ancient Egypt.

But really, I should probably use this space to talk about why there is a Chilean Flamingo in the Bay Area, right? Let's get some things out of the way- he's the only one of his kind ANYWHERE near here. His usual range is mostly in Chile ('natch), which is 6000 miles away. He probably didn't just get lost. He's also probably not from a zoo, since he isn't banded. His name is Fernando and he just kind of hangs out. 

Birders speculate that he might be from a private collection, but my favorite theory is that it's actually an escapee from Marine World, an amusement park that used to be in the area. Apparently the animals were transported by boat from the Hayward area up to their new home in Vallejo, providing him his opportunity to break free. There have been reports of sightings going all the way back to the 70's, which work with this timeline. Either way, he is clearly not a 'wild bird', so he sadly 'doesn't count' for birders. Really though, I think there should be more excitement for this. On the Wikipedia page for Chilean Flamingos there's a whole section about one who escaped and became a local celebrity in Great Salt Lake area. Step up Bay Area, there's a Flamingo here. We don't know how long we'll have him, and we're unlikely to see his kind here ever again. So show some respect!

American Flamingo

American Flamingo aka. Caribbean Flamingo
Ardastra Gardens, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas
April 2017
Member of the Flamingo Family
§A Colony of Flamingos§
★The Most Widespread Flamingo★
★State Bird of Gujarat, India★

~true bird facts~ This is one weird bird, so there's a lot of cool facts about them. Problem is, you probably already know most of them. Here's some cool things you already know about flamingos:

We've all learned this one at some point- they've got that distinctive pink color because of the brine shrimp and algae that comprises much of their diet. Much like our friend the Roseate Spoonbill, their feathers would be grey without this supplement.

Thanks to their recent brush with virality you probably also know why they stand on one leg. It's because of the alignment of their hip and knee joints- they balance perfectly in the center of the bird when bent, meaning that standing this way actually uses almost no energy. It's also a way to regulate body temperature. Important for large animals that don't sweat.

You might've also seen their entertaining synchronized walking-dancing thing they do. It looks like this (these are not American Flamingos, but rather Chilean). It's a mating/pairing ritual, but no one is really sure how the birds decide exactly. It has to do with when they move in unison and when they stop.

One thing you might not know is that Flamingo tongues were considered to be a prized delicacy in ancient Rome. Why do we know so much stuff about Flamingos? I can only assume it's because they're big and cool looking.

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