Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Flamingos get their beautiful orange-pink color from the crustaceans they eat. In zoos they are usually fed substances which contain special dyes in order to retain their color, or else they would turn white!

The above picture was taken at the Syracuse, NY zoo, in July 2000.

Family Phoenicopteridae
Order Ciconiiformes
Class Aves
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
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