day 2 American Flamingo 

DESCRIPTION OF THE HABITAT : distributed throughout the carribean islands and along the northern coast of South America 

• usually living in the shallows of salt or brackish water, even alkaline lakes 

• how much rainfall:  throughout the carribeans its estimated to rain around 4 inches a month equaling to about 48 inches of rain per year 

• plants/vegetation, flamingos typically use:  mangrove swamps, tidal flats, and sandy islands. 

• animals /" neighbors": algae,diatoms, small crustaceans 

• Temperature : 64- 95.4 degrees Fahrenheit 

• terrain : large alkaline, saline lakes, or estuarine lagoons 

DISTRIBUTION: 

• continents found: South America,and the caribbean 

• invasive : in florida for majority of the last century 

DIET: 

• what they eat: algae, small seeds, aquatic invertebrates , brince, fly larvae, shrimp, and mollusks. 

• how often do they eat : as often as they can( as long as they achieve the daily energy needs), consuming about 72 grams of " food"

• how they get food: while "wading" in shallows, they use their feet to stir up mud on the bottom of the shallows

• " special" foods : the american flamingos favorite foods consist of shrimp, snails, plantlike water organisms " algae"  ( plunging heads into the water, twisting their heads, then scooping the fish using their upper beaks like a shovel )