Flamingo (Chilean)

Chilean flamingos stand four to five feet tall and can weigh anywhere from 13-16 pounds. Flamingos will lock their “knees” (which are really their ankles) and stand on one leg.  Standing in this manner helps them to conserve heat. 

They typically will stand facing into the wind or rain so that the water does not get into their feathers.  They have an excellent sense of hearing, but a very poor sense of smell. 

Their beaks are straight at birth so that they can be fed by regurgitation from their parents.  After a few months the beak curves.  They grow in their adult plumage after about two years. 

photographed at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and at Reid Zoo in Tucson, AZ)