FLAMINGO
			Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Chordata Aves Ciconiiformes Phoenicopteriformes

One of the most beautiful birds in existence, the flamingo is an unusual bird. Their necks and legs are proportionately longer than in any other bird. They feed in a peculiar manner, with their heads upside down in foul, alkaline, or salty water. To extract the tiny plants and animals from it, the water is filtered through combine bristles in the bill. The food is swallowed after water has been expelled.

Their plumage is tinted pink, except for the black flight feathers. There are four species. The greater flamingo is found in the Americas, from the Bahamas to the tip of South America, and from southern Europe to South Africa and across to India. The lesser flamingo lives in East Africa and India. The other two species, the rare James' flamingo, and the more common Andean flamingo, live in the high Andes Mountains in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.