Day 3 AMERICAN FLAMINGOS 

SOCIAL STRUCTURE : 

• American Flamingos live in large flocks, flock size can be in the thousands at times

• roles within community : live, mate, and feed in large flocks ( their actions, movements, and behavior helps shape featyres of an ecosystem creating areas for other species to thrive in )

• Male or Female led groups: Males and Females court eachother with varieties of behavior ( they tend to do things as a group and not rely on a leader instead they work together)

• Individuals that make up a group: a " flock" or multiple individuals coming together as one ( considering they are social birds)  " large flocks that can range from several pairs to groups numbering in the thousands"

• how they interact with others: communicate through varieties of vocalizations and body displays 

REPRODUCTION : 

• how often do they mate: different times throughout the year, they tend to mate for a year, get divorced, then find a new mate the following year.

• how many mates do they have : flamingos pair bonding is typically very strong, but from time to time flamingos have been observed to mate with more than one partner. ( typically one mate per year, which are then mutually agreed upon ) 

• time of year for mating : Flamingos have no set breeding season, the reason for that is the breeding is highly ranked and connected to rainfall levels. ( must be high enough to provide adequate food supply ) 

• mating rituals : " mating dance" " pretend " to be preening, open their wings in a salute, and even bow down with their necks stretched forward and wings lifted in the back. the flamingos get so worked up that they march together " line dance"

• number of offspring produces at a time : the flamingo lays one egg  A YEAR

• unique characteristics of flamingos mating : get overly worked up and it looks like they are " line dancing " , mating occurs in the water, female give men an " invitation" for the male to mount her 

DEVELOPMENT : 

• stages of development > courtship and mating * social birds and live in colonies that can number in the tens of thousands > nesting * up to six weeks before an egg is laid, male and female flamingos start building nests togetger> chicks > juveniles > adults ( chicks dont reach adult full size until 1.5 to 2 years ) ( adults wont have plum age for 2- 4 years) 

• how old before sexual maturity : 3 - 5 years

• activities and environment of stages : feeding, preening, resting and bathing , all classify as activities    > plumage begins to turn pale pink on the wings , shallow water environments

• differences between male and females : male are slightly larger than females ( males tend to weigh more ) , male have a longer wingspan , sex determination is unreliable , females lose their coloring when they feed their chicks ,