Flamingos are arguably one of the weirder animals to call this world their home. Even discounting the fact that they can sneeze boiling salt water out of their eyes and drink with their heads upside down, flamingos just look weird which is partly down to the fact that, as chicks, flamingos have their parents cry blood milk directly into their mouths. Or at least it really looks like that. Flamingos, along with pigeons and emperor penguins, can breastfeed. However, why is the flamingo’s milk red like blood?
Why is flamingo’s milk red like blood?
Known for their long legs and striking bright pink feathers, flamingos are wading birds found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and parts of southern Europe, although they have been known to flourish as far north as Germany.
Flamingos can repeat this process up to four times a second, filtering out everything in the water they stir with their feet, mainly algae and small crustaceans. These foods are also responsible for the pink color of flamingos due to their carotene content.
The six red elements are common in nature and are also responsible for their red color in tomatoes and carrots. Over the years, the pigment accumulated in these flamingos gradually turns their white or gray plumage red or pink.
About 2 months after the eggs hatch, while waiting for the young birds’ beaks to develop, they are fed by the parents. A fluid rich in fats and proteins is secreted from a special gland that lines the entire upper part of the digestive tract.
Kite lactation is caused by prolactin, the protein that stimulates milk production in mammals. In flamingos, both male and female birds secrete them.
In terms of nutritional composition, flamingo milk is quite similar to real milk but there is one big difference. Flamingo milk is full of erythrocytes and pigments, so it has a deep red color.
Flamingos are wading birds in the family Phoenicopteridae, order Phoenicopteriformes. This bird is characterized by its striking pink plumage. However, due to different levels of organic pigments in their food, in different areas the flamingos in the US are bright red or orange, while those in Central Kenya are colored. light pink.
The cultural and emotional life of the pair of flamingos is also very interesting and is said to be rare in the natural world. There is even a theory that they have human-like rules in choosing a mate and are extremely loyal.
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Video source: BBC
