Flamingo can only eat when its head is upside down

Flamingos eat with their heads upside down to enable them to use their tongue as a sieve to catch food. The Flamingos suck in water with their tongue and it exists out the side. Its oddly shaped bill filters dirt and other inedible objects from food with the help of hairy projections called mandibles. Their diet typically consists of small organisms such as brine shrimp and algae, but this may vary depending on the size and shape of the bill.

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69 Comments

James Vetzel

They also get their brilliant color from the shellfish that they eat, no shellfish in their diet, then their feathers will be all white.

Renee Verrill

When our daughter was little she called them pinkmingos

James Kelley

I have a room in my florida home devoted to these bueatieuatiful birds . It's called the flamingo room with a plaque which reads " tickled pink in paradise "

Jeff Lupetin

My son always called Them pinky flabingos. Then we would laugh and he would get mad. Then we would get him frozen custard. Love family traditions!

Chris Roughley

This is not correct. Flamingos can eat with their heads upright although the food they usually eat means they eat by filtering with their heads upside down. I worked as a head birdkeeper at a number of zoos and our flamingos often used to eat bread intended for ducks which they used to pick up and swallow with their heads upright.

Omar Mung

We keep the plastic variety in our yard.

Armadillo

Albeck1994, I like it ☺️.

Armadillo

scottlarock, so it seems.

msmatt

Karin Johansson, Actually it comes from carotenoids in the algae, mollusks and crustaceans, The bird's digestive system extracts pigment from carotenoid-containing food and it eventually dissolves in fats. The fats are then deposited in new feathers as they grow

Chrissie

Chris Lee, when something's really beautiful, then it's beautieutiful. Or even beautieutieutiful!

Donna Smith

I got the correct answer ..VERY DELICATE GRACEFUL, COLORFUL AND BEAUTIFUL BIRD

Vaughan Smith

Recommend all to read the fine novel "Cry of the Flamingo" by Australian author TM Clark. About a WHO doctor working in South Africa & investigating the mysterious death of her predecessor, with the help of a detective who is a member of the San tribe. Just one of Tina's great thrillers set in southern Africa.

AprylMc

This is not a good question and answer. Flamingos do not have to eat with their heads upside down! It is their bill that is curved upside down at the end that allows sand and food to be taken in and sifted this way. Also there is no reference I the final answer! Look it up in Wikipedia.