Flamingos live in large colonies that can number in the thousands. This collective lifestyle not only protects them from predators, but also allows them to synchronize their reproduction. During courtship, the birds perform spectacular dances, swinging their sinuous necks and spreading their colorful wings in a ballet-like choreography.
Breeding, however, remains a challenge. Flamingos have only one mate for their entire life. They build nests in the form of mounds of mud, on which they lay a single egg. The chicks, gray at birth, develop their pink coloring over the years.
The parents take care of the young with devotion. For two months, the young grow by ingesting "crop milk", a nutrient-rich secretion passed beak to beak by their parents. It is the microscopic algae and small crustaceans that they consume that give their plumage its characteristic pink hue, thanks to the presence of carotenoids.
As they grow, they feed on aquatic insects, molluscs, algae, crustaceans and small pink shrimp, which further enhance their beautiful coloring. They walk in the water to look for food or fly to move more quickly.
A singular elegance in flight
In the azure-tinted skies, a vision of rare grace enchants the observer: the flight of pink flamingos. These birds, symbols of elegance and lightness, trace captivating arabesques in the sky, an aerial ballet that reflects their natural harmony.
A graceful and synchronized flight: it is a hypnotizing spectacle. They move in large groups, especially during their autumn migrations. At this time, they leave France and Italy to join African lands in the spring. These groups, called "flocks" or "flamboyances", cross lands, lakes and rivers in search of food.
The perfect coordination of flamingos in flight is much more than a simple aesthetic act: it is a collective strategy that allows them to cover long distances while saving energy. Tireless migrants, they fly over lagoons, marshes and deserts, connecting continents in their search for areas rich in food. Their flight also symbolizes freedom: pink silhouettes against a blue sky, they embody the link between the earth and the heavens, between man and nature.
Interdisciplinary school project on Generative Artificial Intelligence carried out with class 3A of the middle school of Orte (VT) Italy, with the supervision of French texts by teacher MICHELA PERINI.
Original music:
Maurizio MAZZOLI
https://www.jamendo.com/track/1877435/carnet-de-notes
