Diet
Andean flamingos feed from the bottom layer of the lake for small particles, mainly diatoms. Andean Flamingos have a deep-keeled bill; the upper jaw is narrower than the lower jaw and this creates a gape on the dorsal surface of the bill. The Andean Flamingo’s bill morphology creates a feeding mechanism that aids in their feeding of diatoms called inertial impaction. This mechanism entails that food particles denser than water, such as diatoms, would impact the filtering surface in the bill causing water to flow out of the mouth and leaving diatoms in the flamingo’s bill. As mentioned, Andean Flamingos forage in shallow salty waters for resources. Andean flamingos exhibit the most flexible foraging pattern compared to that of the Chilean and James flamingos. A study showed that grouping the Andean Flamingos with Chilean Flamingos or with James's Flamingos, the Andean Flamingo would adopt the foraging patterns of the species it is grouped with. Thus, when grouped with the Chilean Flamingo, it will use a moderate and deep foraging depth strategy more than or the same as expected. If they are grouped with James Flamingo they will adopt the edge and the shallow foraging strategy. However, the overall foraging behavior of Andean Flamingo remains unclear and further studies are needed to determine this process.
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