Some weeks ago a flamingo made news by
visiting the Salina
salt pans and remaining there for several days. It left during the night three
weeks. Last week another flamingo, which could be the same one, landed at the
Ghadira Nature Reserve and it seems that it will be spending several days
there.
The proper name of the species that visits
the Maltese islands is greater flamingo. This distinguishes it from other species
of flamingos that are found in other parts of the world. In Maltese the greater
flamingo is known as fjamingu
although I think that most if not all Maltese refer to it as flamingo.
Sightings of flamingos in the Maltese
islands have increased in frequency over the past few years. This is probably
because flamingos can now be found in several wetlands around Sicily including at Vendicari, a nature
reserve at the south east corner of the island where they will hopefully soon start
breeding.
Adult flamingos are pink although their
colour varies from one individual to another and even over time as the colour depends
on the birds’ diet and health. Young birds are greyish pink becoming pink as
they grow older. In Malta
we see both pink adults and grey young birds. Whenever a young flamingo lands
in Malta
many ask me why it is grey and not pink.
Flamingos can be found in a number of
countries around the Mediterranean . They breed
in large numbers in Spain and France . They also breed in Sardinia .
Large numbers winter in wetlands around Tunisia
and other North African countries.
Flamingos are most closely related to
waterfowl. Six species exist, four in the Americas
and two in the Old World . One of these two is
found in Europe .
Apart from the pink plumage, flamingos are
characterised by their very long legs and neck as well as by their hooked
beaks. Both characteristics are adaptations for life in shallow water. The legs
allow the flamingos to wade in water without wetting their feathers and the
long neck helps them reach for the water without bending their legs.
The beak is constructed in such a way to
act as a sieve. It holds the brine shrimp and blue-green algae on which it
feeds inside while allowing water, mud and silt to flow out.
As flamingos become better established in Sicily we are bound to see more of them visiting the
Maltese islands and who knows they might one day establish themselves in the
Maltese islands as well.
This article was published in The Times of Malta on 10 July 2014.
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