The red flamingo is a species of flamingo found in the Caribbean and the Galapagos Islands.
Each leg has four toes with flippers between them, which prevents the birds from sinking easily into the muddy ground. Flamingos are naturally white. Their food (algae and small crustaceans) gives them their pink color. The algae contain the substance carotenoid. The body turns this substance into the pink color. This pink color gets into the feathers and that is why flamingos are pink. The red flamingo grows to about 1.2 to 1.45 m in length and weighs 2 to 4 kg.
To search for food, red flamingos often trek entire distances to waters rich in small crustaceans and algae. Like all other flamingos, it feeds by lapping its head upside down in the water. Its beak contains a filtering mechanism with which it sifts suspended food from the water.