Sleeping Flamingo in North Carolina Zoo

Long time ago, one of our friends told us that he slept while he was standing because he was too tired. However, that was a rare occasion. Human beings do not usually sleep at standing position. Moreover, we have never heard of anyone sleeping when standing with one leg. Well, this flamingo we saw in North Carolina Zoo on 19th April 2008 could do just that. It was really amazing to see that. We did not stay there long enough to see whether they change to standing on the other leg or not.

From this picture, it rested its head and neck on the body. The body was quite round in shape which minimized the surface area. So, it reduced the chance to have wind blowing it down.

Those are Chilean Flamingo in the zoo. Their feathers are in pink because of food they eat such as tiny shrimp, insect larvae, and algae. All these animals and plants contain the chemical, betacarotene, which is the source of these flamingo's pink pigment. Well, it is too bad that human can not change skin color by eating different kinds of food.