There are numerous captive flocks of flamingos in the United States, but only an occasional flamingo appears along the coast of Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
American flamingo has a unique bill, long, wavy neck and long legs with light pink to bright scarlet plumage. This pink bird has the longest legs and neck of any North American bird.
Juvenile flamingos are grey; their plumage runs pink or reddish as a result of ingesting certain bacteria and carotenes along with their food.
In North America, it is found only along the coast of Florida. It inhibits saltwater flats and lagoons. These flamingos prefer shallow inland lakes and rivers and mud flats.
Flamingos feed by filtering small organisms from the water though the comblike bristles in their bills. Females lay one or two eggs in cone shaped mud nests on remote offshore islands.
American Flamingo
