While on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise, we saw these American flamingos at Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico. The American flamingo, also known as the Caribbean flamingo, is found in the Caribbean and the Galapagos Islands. It is the only flamingo species that naturally inhabits North America, as well as the Neotropical realm. The American flamingo lives in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water. They feed mainly on crustaceans, mollusks, insect larvae, and other aquatic invertebrates. American Flamingos are social birds, foraging in noisy flocks that can include hundreds or thousands of birds, and nesting in huge, dense colonies (one colony in Cuba contained 80,000 birds). Flamingos are thought to be monogamous. Females nearly always lay just one or two eggs on a mound of mud that can be as much as a foot tall. Both sexes incubate the egg and care for the chick. American Flamingos spend most of the day feeding. When an area no longer provides enough food, the flamingos migrate to another location at night.
在為期 7 晚的西加勒比海遊輪中，我們在墨西哥科斯塔瑪雅港看到了這些美洲紅鸛。美洲紅鸛，又稱火烈鳥、加勒比海紅鸛，分佈於加勒比海和加拉巴哥群島。它是唯一自然棲息在北美洲以及新熱帶地區的紅鸛(火烈鳥)物種。美洲紅鸛生活在泥灘和鹽水淺的沿海潟湖。它們主要以甲殼類、軟體動物、昆蟲幼蟲和其他水生無脊椎動物為食。美洲紅鸛是群居鳥類，在吵鬧的鳥群中覓食，鳥群可能包括數百或數千隻鳥，並在巨大而密集的鳥群中築巢（古巴的一個鳥群有80,000 隻鳥鳥）。紅鸛被認為是一夫一妻制的。雌性幾乎總是在一堆一英尺高的泥土上產下一兩顆蛋。雌雄都會孵化蛋並照顧雛鳥。美洲紅鸛一天的大部分時間都在進食。當一個地區不再提供足夠的食物時，紅鸛會在晚上遷移到另一個地方。
Notes 筆記
- The American flamingo, also known as the Caribbean flamingo, is found in the Caribbean and the Galapagos Islands. It is the only flamingo species that naturally inhabits North America, as well as the Neotropical realm.
- The American flamingo is a large wading bird with reddish-pink plumage. They measure from 120 to 145 cm (47 to 57 in) tall.
- The American flamingo lives in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water.
- American Flamingos feed mainly on crustaceans, mollusks, insect larvae, and other aquatic invertebrates. It uses its feet to stir up the mud, then it sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms, and mollusks.
- American Flamingos are social birds, foraging in noisy flocks that can include hundreds or thousands of birds, and nesting in huge, dense colonies (one colony in Cuba contained 80,000 birds).
- Flamingos are thought to be monogamous. Females nearly always lay just one or two eggs on a mound of mud that can be as much as a foot tall. Both sexes incubate the egg and care for the chick. Adults feed young hatchlings with “flamingo milk,” a special liquid produced in the parents’ digestive tract. A week or two after hatching, chicks leave the nest and join large crèches—a flamingo nursery school of sorts. Several adults watch the chicks in the crèche, but each chick is fed by its own parents.
- American Flamingos spend most of the day feeding. When an area no longer provides enough food, the flamingos migrate to another location at night.
- Flamingos are very skittish and fly away if they are disturbed. They are also very vocal and have a number of different calls. Breeding pairs have location calls to help locate each other, and alarm calls are used to warn the group of danger. When flamingos fly in large groups, they are often mistaken for geese because of the load honking sound they make. The chicks even make calls while they are in the egg that their parents learn to recognize.
- 美洲紅鸛，又稱火烈鳥、加勒比海紅鸛，分佈於加勒比海和加拉巴哥群島。它是唯一自然棲息在北美洲以及新熱帶地區的紅鸛(火烈鳥)物種。
- 美洲紅鸛是一種大型涉水鳥，羽毛呈紅粉紅色。它們的高度為 120 至 145 公分（47 至 57 英寸）。
- 美洲紅鸛生活在泥灘和鹽水淺的沿海潟湖。
- 美洲紅鸛主要以甲殼類、軟體動物、昆蟲幼蟲和其他水生無脊椎動物為食。它用腳攪動泥土，然後用嘴吸水，過濾掉小蝦、種子、藍綠藻、微生物和軟體動物。
- 美洲紅鸛是群居鳥類，在吵鬧的鳥群中覓食，鳥群可能包括數百或數千隻鳥，並在巨大而密集的鳥群中築巢（古巴的一個鳥群有80,000 隻鳥鳥）。
- 紅鸛被認為是一夫一妻制的。雌性幾乎總是在一堆一英尺高的泥土上產下一兩顆蛋。雌雄都會孵化蛋並照顧雛鳥。成鳥用「火烈鳥奶」餵養幼鳥，這是一種在父母消化道中產生的特殊液體。孵化後一兩週，雛鳥就會離開巢穴，進入大型─類似火烈鳥托兒所。幾個成鳥在托兒所裡看著小鳥，但每隻小鳥都由自己的父母餵養。
- 美洲紅鸛一天的大部分時間都在進食。當一個地區不再提供足夠的食物時，紅鸛會在晚上遷移到另一個地方。
- 紅鸛非常容易受驚，如果受到干擾就會飛走。它們的叫聲也很大，有許多不同的叫聲。繁殖對會發出定位呼叫以幫助彼此定位彼此，並使用警報呼叫來警告群體有危險。當紅鸛成群飛行時，由於它們發出的負載鳴叫聲，它們經常被誤認為是鵝。小紅鸛們甚至會在蛋中發出叫聲，而它們的父母也學會了辨識它們。
References 參考資料
- All About Birds: American Flamingo
- Wikipedia: American flamingo
- NH PBS Nature Works: American Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber
- 維基百科: 美洲紅鸛
Birds Posts 鳥的帖子