Sunday Inspiration – Flamingos and Tropicbirds | Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

American Flamingo Beak at Gatorland by Lee

“But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:” (Romans 16:26 KJV)

As we continue through the taxonomic order of birds, we have come to two Orders that are small. The Phoenicopteriformes Order is made up of one family, the Flamingos. Our other Order is the Phaethontiformes, which has the Tropicbird family. There are only six birds in the first family and three in the other.

White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) by Ian

So, let’s go find out what the Lord Created these birds to appear like, and find out a little about them.

Flamingos are a type of wading bird in the genus Phoenicopterus (from Greek φοινικόπτερος meaning “purple wing”), the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the Old World.

Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) ©Wiki

Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Recent research indicates that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. However, the behaviour also takes place in warm water. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom. (Wikipedia with editing)

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) by Ian

Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon. They have predominantly white plumage with elongated tail feathers and small feeble legs and feet.

Tropicbirds plumage is predominantly white, with elongated central tail feathers. The three species have different combinations of black markings on the face, back, and wings. Their bills are large, powerful and slightly decurved. Their heads are large and their necks are short and thick. They have totipalmate feet (that is, all four toes are connected by a web). The legs of a tropicbird are located far back on their body, making walking impossible so that they can only move on land by pushing themselves forward with their feet. (Wikipedia with editing)

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“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” (Isaiah 40:28 KJV)