Vol. 2 - April - No. 18
Nesting Flamingos
May, 1948Every winter the 500 tall flamingos at the Hialeah Park race track in Florida (as seen in this beautiful postcard) lead easy lives while the horses race around the track which encircles their lagoon. But when spring comes and the horses go away, the bird colony becomes busy. The long-legged birds scoop mud from the water to build cone-like nests and the, honking loudly out of key, lay single chalky eggs in the center of each mud pile. The female flamingos and their mates take turns sitting on the big eggs until by early May the chicks break through their shells, whistle softly and, being hopelessly top heavy, tumble headfirst as soon as they take a step.
The pink-plumed flamingos were brought to the racetrack from Central and South America in 1931. Their wings were clipped to keep them from flying off. But in captivity, off their natural food, their color faded. Today they are kept pink by special diet, which includes large doses of cod-liver oil. The mothers still lose their color during nursing time. Then they feed their young by swallowing food and regurgitating it into their babies' mouths, a practice which leaves the mothers short on vitamins and turns them temporarily pale.
learn more about this fascinating subject:
Hialeah Park's Final Closing Day
Seaworld's Flamingo Information
Dorothy's Fabulous Flamingos Site
Homosassa Springs Park Flamingos
McChump's Tour of Hialeah Park
