The Dallas Morning News
kmenzer@dallasnews.com
And you thought flamingos were flamboyant before.
Flamingo research under way at the Dallas Zoo is uncovering
things you might not know – or might not want to know –
about this long-legged pink beauty. Although captive flamingos tend
to mate for life, the birds flock together in ways you might not
expect.
Sometimes two male flamingos pair up, and sometimes two females
do. They even have threesomes and – when the mood is right
– foursomes.
But before you start saying some flamingos are philanderers,
realize that four pairs of the birds at the Dallas Zoo have been
together for a decade or more. Love is always alight in the bird
exhibit.
"The male-male pairs tend to be good fathers," said zoologist
Jeanette Boylan. "They are very attentive."
Although flamingos are common eye candy at zoos worldwide,
keepers have had problems getting the birds to reproduce in
captivity. That's why the Dallas Zoo's staff began researching
captive flamingo sexuality more than a decade ago and has worked
with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and other research
groups to publish the Flamingo Husbandry Guidelines, a
how-to guide for understanding flamingos.
The manual was first published in 2005 but will be updated this
year.
It details flamingo mating behavior, a complex dance that begins
subtly but culminates in an explosion of avian indulgence. The
performance usually starts with simple "head flagging," where all
members of the flock – male and female – stand up with
their long necks stretched toward the sky and wag their heads back
and forth very quickly.
That often leads to a "wing salute," where everybody opens their
wings wide to shamelessly expose the black feathers on the
underside.
Then, the group may start another behavior, such as marching in
unison or performing an "inverted wing salute," where the birds
push their wings back behind them almost like they're in the gym
working on their triceps.
But it all ends the same: an enormous flamingo sex orgy where
all the birds begin mating with their chosen one or ones at the
same time.
"When they get going in groups of thousands or more, it's a
fantastic display," said Chris Brown, the zoo's bird curator.
Of course, with committed same-sex pairs – which happen
more often in captivity because of the small flocks at zoos –
the mating doesn't result in what mating is meant to. That's why
couples might go to extremes to get babies to raise.
A female might have an affair with a male outside her pairing,
then bring up the baby with her girlfriend.
Males might steal a heterosexual couple's egg, then raise it as
their own.
If you're wondering how they can get away with stealing someone
else's chick, realize that the male-male pairs are dominant in the
flock, according to the Dallas Zoo's research. Male-female pairs
are second in the pecking order, followed by female-female pairs,
then single males and, lastly, single females.
Trios and quartets are rare and seem to form under specific
circumstances in captivity.
A male-female-female trio might form when a second female joins
an established heterosexual pair or a female attracts a male who
already has another pairing.
A male-male-female grouping might form when one member of a
homosexual male pair attracts a female mate or a female attracts a
second male mate.
Sounds like an episode for Friends: "The Flamingo Years."
You can tune in now since the wild things are in mating season at
the Dallas Zoo.
A baby flamingo hasn't been born at the Dallas Zoo since 1989.
The zoo had some eggs two years ago, but they weren't viable. This
time around, zoo officials have their fingers crossed that some
hatchlings will arrive soon.
"We're always hoping, every year," Mr. Brown said.
PECKING
ORDER
Captive flamingos have a distinct hierarchy:
1. Male-male pairs
2. Male-female pairs
3. Female-female pairs
4. Single males
5. Single females