Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Do flamingos live in North America?


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Why: This necklace is called "Miami Vice has a Girlfriend." There are a lot of plastic flamingos in Florida, but I haven't seen any in California:


Answer: American Flamingos breed in the northern Caribbean in the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, and Turks and Caicos. Most sightings in southern Florida are usually considered to be escapees, although at least one bird banded as a chick in the Yucatán Peninsula has been sighted in Everglades National Park. Others may be genuine wanderers from Cuba.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: There are 5 other species of flamingo: Greater, Lesser, Chilean, James's, and Andean. Flamingos produce a type of "milk" due to a hormone called prolactin. The milk is produced in glands lining the the upper digestive tract, and contains fat, proteins, and red and white blood cells. Both parents nurse their chicks for about 2 months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.