I bet you look good on the dance floor?
Blog post by flamingo researcher Paul Rose. Find our more about these amazing creatures in Paul's flamingo diary.
It's a fantastic day for flamingo courtship at WWT Slimbridge and so many of the birds seem to be marching around constantly. Maybe they know a change in the weather bringing some sunshine!? So here is a selection of photos from the what birds have been doing today. I hope you will enjoy the similarities and differences of the display from each species.
Spot the dancers... right in the middle of the Caribbean flock. They have been really active for some time now. But they seem particularly excited at the moment and are indulging in lots of marching back and forth across their enclosure.
No-one quite does it like the Andeans. A much more organised group than the Caribbeans. Their marching really is choreographed. (and spot who's joining in too!)
There's also a lot of action from the Chileans, who have been in the mood all week. But again, who seem to have really been spurred into action today.
Only when really fired-up do the Caribbeans march together. Unfortunately a photo doesn't quite convey the speed and excitement of the birds involved. But use your imagination...
These guys go really fast! And can turn on a sixpence. I tried to get a photo of them leaning in when they take a corner. Hopefully you can see what I mean. Kind of reminds me of that pinwheel manoeuvre the massed bands have to do on Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour...
Plenty of splashing. See the Chileans stomp up and down in the channel in front of their house. This is their favourite parade ground and where they will most likely be seen dancing.
All of the flocks have turned very pink. The brightest Caribbeans control the centre of the displaying ground. See the bird on the right just leaning in to the photo doing an inverted wing salute. I will try and get a photo of a flamingo doing this in shot as you'll be surprised by the amazing colours of their behinds!
Whereas pale birds, youngsters or last year's parents, are relegated to the edges of the group. They want to try and join in but are not quite pretty enough.
Everyone looks stunning in this flock! The Andeans are at their brightest. Don't forget to pay them a visit.
Look out for the curved necks in marching Caribbeans (the tall bird on the left shows this really well). This is sort of similar to how the lesser flamingo performs its marching (in that birds arch their necks sharply down). The Caribbeans do not do this in the same way as the lesser- it is more smooth and less "broken" like you will see in a lesser flamingo.
What about a wing flash? All species of flamingo open their wings as part of their courtship display. This Andean at the very front is performing a twist preen. And they do this movement whilst still powering on forwards. Sometimes they do crash in to each other...
Chileans are best at flashing their wings. Here is a twist preen in a displaying bird. It is a much more obvious performance than that in the photo of the Andean flamingo above.
And if a bird does get in way of another, fights will break out. In fact squabbling in a displaying group is very common. This is a real peculiarity of these species- they like each other's company. They like to be in a group. But they like their space thank you very much. And fights between displaying flamingos can get very violent.
Two male Andean flamingos really come to blows.
And the winner of the fight pecks home his message, and re-joins his fellow dancers.
Until next time, keep a look out for flamingo dancing on your next visit to WWT Slimbridge. Hopefully you will be able to spot some of the specifics of the courtship display if you have time to spend a few minutes watching what a flock is up to.
Paul Rose, PhD student
