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Apparently you can work out who they fancy based on the direction the wing is flashed. "Interestingly, this wing flashing behaviour is especially significant in Chilean flamingos. The flamingo then lowers one wing to the side and flashes it open. The bird either stands very tall or leans forward and looks like it’s bowing. This is known as wing saluting and takes a few forms. The subtle art of courtshipĭuring the group display you can also see birds flashing their wings. This warms the flock up to the idea of breeding and is most often started by the largest, most dramatically pink males, although both males and females join in.

Head flagging is one of the more common dance moves. The complexity of a flamingo’s courtship ritual increases with age up to around 20 years old. Some of the courtship dances are complex and the research has shown it takes many years to learn the more complicated moves. This revelation came from scientists studying wild greater flamingos in the Camargue in the Mediterranean. We now know that there are 136 combinations of dance moves a flamingo can perform during courtship. Only then will they be welcomed into the centre to take part in the breeding rituals and eventual nesting." Young flamingos have to bide their time on the edges of the flock, until they can show off the same bright hues as the adults. So it makes sense for them not to bother with birds that aren’t pink enough. "They synchronise their behaviour in part by the colours of the other birds in the flock. So, the flamingos will only breed when all birds are ready. So, they really want to be in flocks with other birds that are likely to be breeding partners and are ready to nest at the same time.” They do an intense amount of courtship display and use their bright feather colours to attract a mate. “Flamingos all display extreme sexual selection. WWT research associate Dr Paul Rose explains further: Why else would they invest so much time and energy into creating such vivid feather colour if they couldn’t see it? For a flamingo, it would seem that their pinkness is all about finding a breeding partner and being “useful” to the flock. That’s the question WWT have been researching for a few years, and we’ve made some fascinating discoveries.įlamingos, like all birds, have excellent colour vision. So the birds closest to them are likely to be other young flamingos of a similar age.Īs the birds age and their plumage increases in pinkness, the flamingos are more likely to be seen in the centre of the flock. Our research has shown that as a result young flamingos are more likely to be found on the periphery of flocks.

Until that time, the adults aren’t keen to let the youngsters take part in what the flock does. The same substance is present in the carrots you eat. It takes about five or six years for them to gain their full characteristic adult pink colour, which builds up from their carotenoid-enriched diet. This is then replaced with dull brown feathers. But have you ever wondered why they dance, and what their elaborate performances actually mean in flamingo society? How flamingos turn pinkĪ young flamingo hatches with beautiful silver grey down. Flamingos are fascinating creatures, with their pink plumage and quirky behaviours.