Flocks of pink flamingos (or red-winged birds) arrived for wintering on the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea - in the Hazar State Reserve, writes “MIR 24”.
According to ornithologists, the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea attracts these Red Book birds with its mild climate and rich food supply - small crustaceans and algae are abundant here, which form the basis of the diet of pink flamingos.
Flamingos fly to the Caspian every autumn, in October, and fly back in March-April. The pink flamingo is the only species of this bird common in the CIS.
Various shades of pink in the color of the plumage of birds are explained by the peculiarities of the diet - crustaceans and algae that flamingos feed on contain a large amount of beta-carotene, which has a reddish color. If a flamingo begins to eat food that does not contain beta-carotene, its feathers will gradually turn white.