Flamingos: Phoenicopteriformes

Flamingos usually breed at large lakes, but they can feed in a large variety of shallow lakes and lagoons, either inland or coastal. The bodies of water can be small and are usually salty (even saltier than ocean water). But some flamingos also feed in fresh water or in rice fields. They find their food in lakes from sea level all the way up to 14,000-foot (3,500-meter) mountains. The Andean flamingos in South America feed on lakes loaded with natural chemicals (chlorides and sulfates) that other birds avoid. For that reason, the flamingos do not have to compete with other birds for the food in those lakes.