Flamingos: Phoenicopteriformes

Flamingos fly with their long necks and legs sticking straight out. When they find a good feeding spot, they often gather in enormous flocks. Sometimes the flocks number more than a million birds. Most flamingos do not migrate regularly, but they move when water levels change in their habitats. Everything they do depends on rainfall and drought patterns. When the water level is just right in a lake, hundreds of thousands of flamingos might breed there at the same time. In muddy areas, their nests are towers as tall 16 inches (40 centimeters) made of mud, stones, and shells. In rocky areas, the females lay their eggs right on the ground. Each pair has just one chick that is cared for by both parents. It takes the chicks between sixty-five and ninety days to learn to fly and feed themselves.