Wild Diet: Small organisms, crustaceans and algae

Zoo Diet: Mazuri flamingo diet soaked in water

Habits: Flamingos breed in large colonies, usually in or near water. The nest is built of mud and other materials and formed into a cone with a depression in the top to hold the eggs. Young birds are nourished by a liquid secreted by the parents until their own special feeding mechanisms develop and they can feed themselves.

Flamingos wade with necks lowered and heads upside down, sweeping from side to side. Tiny organisms and algae are filtered from the water by an arrangement of special bristles in the bill, similar to the feeding method of the blue whale. These feeding areas have a high salt content. The flamingos filter out the food particles without swallowing the salt water, preferring less saline or salt-free water for drinking, which they get from springs or standing pools of rainwater.