Flamingo Key

Welcome to the Flamingo Key exhibit at the Toledo Zoo. This exhibit is home to many different species of shorebirds and water birds that you would encounter in the Caribbean and similar tropical areas of North and South America. Those birds include the Caribbean flamingo, Roseate spoonbill and White stork. The wooden entrance to this exhibit is painted in bright pink, yellow, orange and teal.

As you enter this exhibit, you may hear many birds squawking or honking at each other. You might also notice wings flapping as they move around the exhibit or at other birds, as well as splashing in the pond at the center of the exhibit. You may also hear the White storks smacking their bills together to talk to the other storks. Of all the birds in the exhibit, the flamingos are the chattiest!

Flamingos have a large body, long legs, a long neck and a small head. These birds are known for their bright pink feathers, but they also have black feathers on the tips of their wings that create a black stripe across their wings as they fly. Flamingos are also known for standing on one leg. Scientists believe flamingos do this to stay warm. By having only one leg in the cold water, they decrease how much heat is lost by tucking their other leg close to their body. Some people like to try balancing on one leg like a flamingo, but whether you try it, imagine it or just enjoy watching them, it’s a fun thing to learn about!

The name Caribbean flamingo comes from where you can find them. They live on many of the islands within the Caribbean Sea as well as the Florida Keys. Since their range includes North and South America, they are also called American flamingos. Flamingos like to live in large groups called colonies, which can have up to 1,000 birds.

Flamingos make mounded nests of mud on the ground to lay their eggs in. They only lay one egg at a time. The flamingos in this exhibit often build their nests to the far right under the shade of the trees.

Did you know that when flamingos are born, they are a light grey color? Flamingos get their pink feathers from the food that they eat. They primarily eat algae and crustaceans such as shrimp that contain the pink pigment. As they continue to eat this food, their feathers turn pink.

Flamingos have an interesting-shaped bill. Compared to other birds, theirs looks upside down — and that’s on purpose! Flamingos are filter feeders. They stick their head in the water upside down, scoop up their food and separate out the water and mud so that only their food is left. This is like sifting seashells and sand at a beach!

Another brightly colored bird in this exhibit is the Roseate spoonbill. These are medium-sized water birds with long, skinny black legs, a pale pink football-shaped body with brighter pink shoulders, a long white neck, small red eyes and a long spoon-shaped bill. These birds are native to coastal regions of the southeastern United States, eastern Mexico, Central and South America and the islands of the Caribbean. Within that range, they prefer the shallower waters of mangrove swamps, tide pools and coastal areas. They create nests of sticks and twigs in the trees and shrubs along the water’s edge, providing close access to food.

The spoon-shaped bill serves an important purpose. Roseate spoonbills mainly eat smaller fish, crustaceans, insects, mollusks and other small organisms in the water. To catch food, they stick their bill into the water and move it from side to side to stir up the water and trap prey inside. When they feel food in their bill, they snap it shut!

White storks are large, white-bodied birds with black feathers on the ends of their wings, long pale red legs, a long white neck, a small head with black eyes and a long red cone-shaped bill.

They can be found in central Europe and southern Africa. White storks live in shallow wetlands, lakes, grassy meadows and even farmlands.

Their long, cone-shaped bill is perfectly designed to help them get their food. They eat insects, worms, frogs, reptiles, fish and crustaceans. Their bill is long and sharp enough to probe into the mud and dirt or to snatch fish from the water.

Thank you for visiting the Flamingo Key Exhibit at the Toledo Zoo! We hope you enjoyed discovering more about some of the birds that call the Caribbean home. Have a great rest of your day here at the Toledo Zoo!