'Friendship' groups could hThe sight of tens of thousands of felp flamingos stay in the pink - study

[Judi Lynn]

UK survey of Gloucestershire flocks shows birds hang out in small social networks

Steven Morris

@stevenmorris20
Tue 14 Apr 2020 07.16 EDT

The sight of tens of thousands of flamingos flocking together to create a huge pink cloud may be one of the wonders of the natural world but research suggests that within these vast congregations, individual birds form intimate, long-lasting friendship groups.

A five-year study of captive flocks in Gloucestershire has found that flamingos spend large amounts of time with specific close “friends” in groups of up to four or five.

The report says that some of these friendship groups appear to avoid others they do not get along with. No loners were spotted but some individuals, dubbed “social butterflies” by the researchers, did flit from group to group.

It has long been known that gatherings of flamingos in the wild, which can number up to 2 million individuals, are complex social structures. It is also known that the birds have very different individual characteristics.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/14/friendship-groups-could-help-flamingos-stay-in-the-pink-study

[jpak]

1. Fix the subject line !

ugh

[eppur_se_muova]

2. 'Friendship' groups could h{The sight ... thousands of f}elp flamingos stay in the pink - study nt