FLAMINGO NO. 1

 I crossed paths with this American flamingo at Jungle Island in Miami. The American flamingo is a tall elegant bird of the Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, and Florida. The glowing pink comes from its diet of shrimp and algae. The American flamingo is the only flamingo species native to North America. They stand over four feet tall with long stilt-like legs and a graceful neck. Its specialized downturned bill filters food from the water of shallow lagoons and mudflats. They are social and highly vocal, gathering in colonies of thousands, moving and feeding in coordinated flocks that paint the landscape in vivid pink.