Flamingos are large birds that usually have pink, red or orange feathers.

Flamingos get their colour from their food, which contains a natural dye.

They eat food such as shrimps, crabs and tiny water plants. If they can't get this food, they become white.

There are many flamingos living in Africa, especially near coastal areas in lakes and lagoons.

Flamingos can live in places where the water is very salty or toxic to humans.

Look at the pink on the map to see where flamingos live across the world.

Flamingos have long thin legs that enable them to walk in water.

They have webbed feet, which enable them to walk on mud and to swim.

Their long flexible necks and big curved bills help them to catch food under water.

Flamingos are sociable birds that live in groups. These groups are called colonies.

A colony can be quite small – less than one hundred birds.

A colony can be huge. The Great Rift Valley in East Africa has flamingo colonies of over a million birds!

When hunting, flamingos spend a lot of time with their heads down in the water or mud.

Flamingos outside the water will warn birds that are hunting if there is danger.

Animals such as hyenas, foxes and baboons prey on flamingos.

Flamingos have powerful wings and can fly for long distances.

They fly in flocks and can travel up to 500 kilometres in one journey!

They can also fly up to 50 kilometres an hour.

How long could it take a flamingo to fly 500 kilometres?

To start flying, flamingos flap their wings and run on top of the water to pick up speed.

A flamingo's body and legs do not weigh much.

When the wings are flapping fast enough, the bird lifts up above the water and takes off.

Flamingos play an important role in wetlands as they eat tiny water plants (called algae).

This helps to control the growth of algae, and make sure there isn't too much algae in the water.

We need flamingos to look after our salty lakes and wetlands.