Flamingo Friday: …Or That’s What It Could Be

A few weeks ago I was watching the flamingos performing their dramatic courtship rituals (flamingos never go halfway with this sort of thing)—doing wing displays and bows, head flagging, and racing back and forth across their pool en masse to draw attention to themselves as they engaged in these behaviors. All of this, mind you, was accompanied by a series of what are no doubt—to a flamingo—very romantic honking noises.

It was certainly entertaining for zoo visitors, many of whom paused to watch and exclaim over the displays (although no one else spent as much as I did trying fruitlessly to get good photos of them doing their courtship laps).

Among those to stop was a German-speaking family. I don’t speak German (except to be able to say “I am not a calculator,” which I imagine will come in very handy should I ever need to use the language), but between words in common and context I was able to figure out most of what the young boy and his parents were talking about.

As the flamingos raced past, wings flapping, heads erect, the boy exclaimed, “Look, Mama! A parade!”

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}