Unit Study of Flamingos
Unit Study of Flamingos
Latest update to this document: 10 April 2003
In this unit of study, students in middle school will be looking at the facts and descriptions of flamingos.
Through the links below, students will travel to various web pages to search in order to gain knowledge on flamingos.
Included in this, students are to find background information discussing habits of flamingos, how, and where they live.
Because flamingos are also in zoos, the difference between their eating habits and daily activity should be looked
at and compared between life in a zoo to that of the wild.
Below are nine sites that will help start and guide students through the search to gain knowledge on flamingos. Below the
list of links, you will find another page to go to where I have critiqued the three best and three worst sites discussing
and providing information on flamingos. This should prove to be somewhat useful in selecting which sites to prioritize when looking
for helpful information.
Planet Flamingo
- Planet Flamingo provides ideas and basics to introduce the flamingo in a general way. This site is mainly text and
covers a few questions that are more commonly thought of when the species is brought up. This site is focused heavily on the
reason for the color change of grey to pink, a brief description of their maturity process, and the way their legs bend
backwards and eat upside-down. This site is brief short, giving only the basis of somewhere to start gaining knowledge on
subject matter: flamingos.
- Absolute Flamingos
- Here you will find a good variety of facts and information about flamingos. Absolute Flamingos provides an introduction
to flamingos, their physical description, and how there are different species that vary from one another, like between the greater flamingo
and the Chilean flamingo. This site also discusses the diet of the flamingo, the things it will and will not
consume, and the topic of reproduction. Flamingos' senses and threats that they deal with are also provided, as well as
a discussion of baby flamingos.
- Enchanted Learning: American Flamingo
- This is not so much a site to go to in order to search for detailed information about flamingos, but it can be very
useful in understanding a little more about them. This is a diagram of the general anatomy of an American Flamingo and
is printable. This page gives a brief description of a flamingo's feathers, diet, anatomy, and habitat. This page will
be helpful in giving you a quick reference guide to start building facts and ideas about the flamingo from, not a major source
of detailed information and description.
- The Wild Ones: Flamingo
- The Wild Ones brings up some excellent points about flamingos and their habitats. Flamingos are not found only in Florida,
as many people seem to think. Here you can find out where by looking at the different categories that the site is divided into,
like why they are pink, what they eat, how they live, where they live, and how to conserve the area to keep them the way they are.
This site also gives a scientific overview of the different species of flamingos, their common and scientific names, and the
geographic range in which they live.
- Geocities
- This is a short page of brief facts. It is short and to the point, giving a quick overview of the American Flamingo.
This page is set up more as a list than an article or descriptor and will allow to quickly determine whether the information you are
looking for is provided here or not. Again, this is more of a place to get basic information down and then build upon
it and expand to greater detail and thought.
- Dorothy's Fabulous Flamingos
- Dorothy's Fabulous Flamingo Web Site is an excellent site that grabs your attention quickly and provides many pictures
to look at while reading about flamingos. Dorothy gives the origin of the word "flamingo" and describes them, from how old they
can be to their optimum size (height and weight), as well as the difference between males and females. The places in the world
where flamingos can be found is described here, as well as the breeding habits they have and the process that baby
flamingos go through as they mature. Dorothy discussing the feeding habits of flamingos and supplies various links to other
sites that have pictures, sounds, and facts that can be useful is uncovering the secrets of the flamingo.
- Animal Diversity: Greater Flamingo
- This site is specifically about the Greater Flamingo and provides information and scientific classification, with descriptions to help gain
a better understanding. This understanding is of the regions flamingos come from and live in, their physical characteristics
and classifications, their natural history, economic importance (both positive and negative), and a brief idea of conservation. In slightly further detail,
are descriptions of the feeding habits and way in which flamingos get food, their reproduction habits and ways of breeding,
ideas of social behavior, and general overview of their habitat.
- PBS online Nature: Fire Bird
- Nature on the Web is a part of PBS online and provides a detailed look at flamingos and, specifically, the Fire Bird (also
known as the lesser flamingo).
Looking at the Great Rift Valley to discover the environment of East Africa in which these birds live and nest, you can learn
about flamingos and the ways they survive in hostile environments. This site gives a focused view of how the flamingos
survive areas and the things parents must do to protect their young and feed themselves and others in their flock. This site
also describes the origin of the name and the Latin meaning.
- Sea World: Flamingos
- The Sea World Education Center goes to great lengths to provide as much useful information as possible in order to help
those searching for facts and information. This site offers more than just a list of random facts that people may find interesting.
Here you will be able to find many answers to the questions involved in this unit of study. For a detailed, in-depth, look
at flamingos there are many categories that this site has been divided into. One is the scientific classification
where the terms are defined and described. This site also provides great information to answer the subject questions on
their physical characteristics, senses, adaptation skills, behavioral patterns, feeding habits, reproduction, hatching and maturing
of young, communication skills, and longevity/ cause of death of flamingos.
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