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Flamingo
Phoenicopterus
39.7483, -104.953
Field Notes
Description:
Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Some suggest that the flamingo, like some other animals, has the ability to have half of its body go into a state of sleep, and when one side is rested, the flamingo will swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven.[citation needed] Recent research has indicated that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water.[12] As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom. ~ Wikipedia
Habitat:
Range: Africa, Asia, North America, Central America, South America, and Europe
Habitat: large, shallow lakes or lagoons. Lakes may be far inland or near the sea or even connected to it. ~ sandiegozoo.org
Notes:
Flamingoes are well attested in the fossil record, with the first unequivocal member of the extant family Phoenicopteridae, Elornis known from the Late Eocene. A considerable number of little-known birds from the Late Cretaceous onwards are sometimes considered to be flamingo ancestors. These include the genera Torotix, Scaniornis, Gallornis, Agnopterus, Tiliornis, Juncitarsus and Kashinia; these show a mix of characters and are fairly plesiomorphic in comparison to modern birds. (The supposed "Cretaceous flamingo" Parascaniornis is actually a synonym of Baptornis and not a close relative to any living bird). An extinct family of peculiar "swimming flamingos", the Palaelodidae, are believed to be related to, or to be the ancestors of, the modern flamingos. This is sometimes rejected, since the fossil Elornis is known to be from some time before any palaelodid flamingos have been recorded. There exists a fairly comprehensive fossil record of the genus Phoenicopterus. ~ Wikipedia
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