Description
Flamingo Toy
Flamingos are a group made up of six species of colorful water birds, found in South and Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and India, with one species occasionally venturing into Florida in the United States. These highly social birds travel in flocks of thousands of individual birds. Their unusual beaks are specialized for filtering out brine shrimp and algae from the water.
- Scientific Name: Family Phoenicopteridae
- Characteristics: This hand-painted flamingo figure features a highly detailed sculpt that highlights the bird’s most recognizable traits, from its uniquely curved beak to its long neck and legs. It’s posed on a base of algae covered ground for stability.
- Size and Color: This flamingo figure is just over 3 ¼ inches tall and and just over 2 inches long, or about as big as a deck of cards stood upright. The figure features an updated paint schematic that is modeled after an American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) with orange-pink feathers accented with white on the tips, with pale pink legs, a white face and pink bill with black tip.
- The Flamingo is part of the Wings of the World Birds collection
- All of our products are Non-toxic and BPA free
History:
The lineage of flamingos is quite complicated, as they have at different times been placed in the orders Ciconiiformes (long-legged birds like storks) and Anseriformes (waterfowl like ducks and geese), before genome studies revealed they are more closely related to doves and pigeons. They are now placed in their own order, Phoenicopteriformes, in the clade Columbea, which also contains grebes, pigeons, doves and sandgrouses.
The word flamingo comes from the Spanish word “flamengo” which means “flame-colored” and alludes to their bright reddish pink coloration. This color is actually the result of the flamingo’s diet, as they break down substances called carotenoids in the brine shrimp and algae they consume and turn it into pigment, which shows up in the striking reds and pinks of their feathers.
Though the greater flamingo and American flamingo are species of Least Concern according to the IUCN, three other species are considered Near Threatened, and one (the Andean flamingo) is listed as Vulnerable.
- Recommended Age: 3+
- Size in cm: 5.46 L x 2.54 W x 8.26 H
- Size in inches: 2.15 L x 1.0 W x 3.25 H
