He says avoidance may serve to prevent squabbles: “One way to reduce stress and fights is to avoid those birds you don’t get on with.” Like humans, another highly social species, these wading birds carefully avoid certain individuals, Rose reported. “The fact that they’re so long-lasting,” he says, “suggests these relationships are important for survival in the wild.” It’s possible these bonds could last decades flamingos can live 50 years. īy collecting these data over a five-year period, Rose observed that flamingos maintain selectively stable friendships, mainly characterized by standing close together. The flocks, which ranged in size from just over 20 individuals to more than 140, are considered similar in structure and behavior to wild groups. Study leader Paul Rose, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, wanted to find out if flamingos form complex bonds within their large groups.įrom 2012 to 2016, Rose collected data on four captive flocks of Caribbean, Chilean, Andean, and lesser flamingos kept at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire. The highly gregarious birds’ flocks typically number in the thousands. Six species of flamingo inhabit large saline or alkaline lakes, mudflats, or shallow lagoons around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. ![]() The enduring partnerships among flamingos include mated couples that build nests together and raise chicks every year, as well as same-sex friends and groups of three to six close buddies. Now scientists have discovered, for the first time, that the birds form long-lasting and loyal friendships-and that physical traits may play a role in those bonds. ![]() Flamingos are known for their long legs, long necks, and party-pink feathers.
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