Flamingos are easily recognisable due to their famously long neck and pink coloured feathers. Check out these top facts about the flamingo.

1. There are only 6 species of flamingos.
2. Wild flamingos are pink because they consume vast quantities of algae and insects.
3. Flamingos are easily recognisable bird as they spend most of their time standing on one leg.
4. There are 19 bones in a flamingo’s neck.
5. Their beaks and feathers are made of a tough substance called keratin.
6. The bend halfway down the flamingo’s leg is actually its ankle, not its knee!
7. Flamingo’s stand on one leg in water because it reduces the amount of body heat lost by the cold water.
8. Flamingos mostly lay one large egg at a time. The eggs weigh between 115 to 140 grammes.
9. Females can lay two eggs at once, however it is uncommon that both eggs will hatch.
10. 1 out of 300 people have an irrational phobia of flamingos.
11. The oldest flamingo on record lived to 44 years old at the Philadelphia Zoo.
12. There are more plastic flamingos in the USA than real real ones!
13. Flamingos feel most secure when they are crowded together.
14. A group of flamingos is called a flock
15. The word “flamingo” originates from the Latin word meaning “flame”.

Written By Luke Ward

Luke Ward is the founder of TheFactSite. He is professional blogger, with over four years experience. He enjoys writing about celebrities, film and TV. His latest achievement was graduating for BA (Hons) in Motion Graphics.