Flamingo Babies

 I'll probably do a post about Flamingoes later, but I wanted to do this one for reasons that are absolutely unrelated to a video I saw recently on Youtube that I'm going to link repeatedly. 

What got me to the video in the first place is that Flamingoes don't have backwards knees, they have knees up against their body and ankles halfway down...and baby flamingoes are adorable, but especially when they're first learning to walk. There's also this one that is about them trying to learn to stand on one leg, which is hilarious also. I really like it that the larger baby just gave up and sat down a few times. 

This comes from the Birdfact link below. 

To continue the absolute adorableness of all things, these tiny adorables are often called chicks, but sometimes also flaminglets. That sounds both adorable and awkward, like them. They're often single children, with one large white egg that gets incubated for a bit less than a month, then the babies stay in the nest for a week as they get stronger, then they join the other flock babies because these birdies are social. More social than me at least. 

It'll probably surprise you, but Flamingo parents actually feed their babies 'milk' that is very similar to mammal mother's milk, and is very red because it's got the proteins the little gray babies need to turn pink. It does mean that the mama turns a bit paler for a while, but being a parent drains everyone for a while anyway. As a kitten-mama, I'm allowed to say that. It takes a while for the babies to change colors though, so no bright-pink babies. 

Another interesting thing is that everyone knows that Flamingoes have hooked beaks, but the babies have straight beaks. They start curving as they get older and less adorable, starting at about 11 weeks old. The picture below is also from the Fort Worth link below. 

I hope this provides you with some of your daily requirement for cute and that you will follow the youtube links to see the adorable baby flamingoes trying to walk or stand on one leg. They certainly made me smile. 

Hopefully I'll see you soon, though probably not with something quite this adorable again. 

Sources:

YOUTUBE-- Baby Flamingo Learning to Walk

YOUTUBE-- Baby Flamingo Trying to Stand on One Leg

A-Z Animals-- Baby Flamingo Facts

Seaworld-- All About Flamingo Babies

BirdFact-- Baby Flamingoes

Animal Corner-- The Adorable Side of Flamingoes

Fort Worth Zoo-- Baby Flamingoes Born