Flamingos are large wading birds with very long legs and neck,
an abruptly turned-down bill, and an unfeathered face.
They are found in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America,
and the Caribbean area. Wild flamingos are sometimes seen in Florida,
but they do not naturally nest in the United States.
Flamingos are white, pinkish white, or vermilion, with black
flight feathers (remiges); they stand from 90 cm to
1.5 m (3 to 5 ft) tall.

Flamingos feed on minute animal and vegetable matter,
such as algae and diatoms, or on small molluscs or crustaceans.
When feeding, the flamingo places its head and bill upside
down below the surface of the water. Using its thick, fleshy tongue,
the bird forces muddy water through the serrated edges of its bill,
thus straining the water and trapping the edible material in it.

Flamingos, highly gregarious throughout the year, nest in colonies;
in some species, such as the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor),
these colonies may number as many as 2 million birds.
The nest is a cone of mud up to about 45 cm (1.5 ft) high,
and one or two whitish eggs are laid in a shallow depression
at the top of the cone. Both sexes incubate the eggs.
The young hatch after about a month and have a straight bill,
which begins to develop a bend within a few weeks.

The 4 to 6 living species and 14 extinct species of flamingos
constitute the family Phoenicopteridae, which is usually
placed in an order of its own--Phoenicopteriformes.