In nature, there is no shortage of extremely strange stories – especially when viewed from a human worldview. The scene of flamingos raising babies shared by the Facebook page Science Channel not long ago is one of them, which really made viewers feel “shocked” when they first witnessed it.

At first glance, it appeared that the flamingo had ripped off the head of another adult flamingo. Meanwhile, the baby below is using its beak to tightly grasp the “wounded” flamingo, catching all the flow of blood-red liquid flowing down.

But the truth is not so scary. In fact, this is a very meaningful action, with the three flamingos being a family, including the father, mother, and their children.

The red liquid that the baby flamingo is drinking is not blood, but a nutrient rich in protein and fat called kite milk (milk that flows from the kite). They are secreted from a special gland, called the lining gland, located in the upper part of the digestive tract of both male and female flamingos.

“Flamingos can produce kite milk in their digestive system, then spit it back out to feed their young,” said a caption on Science Channel . “Flamingos are the only birds that can do this”.

The scene of flamingos feeding their babies with blood-red kite milk.

Thus, in the photo, the father flamingo (above) is dripping milk onto the mother bird’s head, letting the liquid gradually flow into the baby’s mouth, without any pecking action. It is known that baby flamingos will live on kite milk for about 2 months after hatching.

According to ornithology experts, some other bird species such as pigeons and penguins also feed their young with milk. However, in most cases, baby birds will nuzzle their beaks directly into the mother bird’s beak to eat milk. As for flamingos, because of their long and large beak structure, they have to eat in a special way.

Some people also believe that due to its special biological structure, the father bird has to press its beak down hard for the kite milk to flow out. Meanwhile, weak baby birds will not be able to withstand this force. That’s why the mother bird puts her head out to “catch” the milk flow, then gently guides it into the baby bird’s beak.

Thus, this action alone shows the sophistication and carefulness of flamingos, and is not at all “horrible” as many people mistakenly think when looking at the photo.

Flamingo is the name for wading birds belonging to the family Phoenicopteridae , order Phoenicopteriformes . This bird is characterized by its striking pink plumage. However, because the levels of organic pigments in their food vary in different regions, American flamingos are bright red or orange, while birds in Central Kenya are bright red or orange. light pink.

According to fossil evidence, this group of birds has evolved a long time ago, and existed about 30 million years ago. They have a preference for standing on one leg and this has caused scientists a headache to find the answer. Many theories suggest that keeping one leg helps them retain body heat, because they are inherently tropical birds but have adapted to cold environments to access food and water. Some studies suggest that flamingos stand on one leg to maintain strength and better blood circulation.

The cultural and emotional life of flamingo couples is also interesting, and is said to be rare in the natural world. There is even a theory that they have rules like humans in choosing a mate and are extremely loyal.

Accordingly, flamingo relationships maintain close bonds for decades, including married flamingo couples, same-sex friendships and even is a group of 3 or 4 close friends. In nature, it is easy to see close flamingo couples because they always stand close to each other, tightly inseparable.