Flamingos Display Best Moves | Animals In Love | BBC Earth

There are six different species of flamingo and I've come to Slimbridge Wetland Centre in the UK to find out more about the greater flamingo. In their efforts to attract a mate, they do something no other flamingo species does. Flirting for these flamboyant birds is all about producing your best moves and looking fabulous while you're doing them. Paul Rose from Exeter University has spent the last three years studying how these birds pick their partners. Everything about flamingos is about doing stuff with your friends and I've often thought it's a bit like the primary school disco in that there are some kids that really want to kind of go on the dance floor and you know they really want to get there and they're boogie on and everyone else is like oh maybe I'm not sure and eventually it kind of spreads and everyone's like oh right we can do this as well and then off they'll go and all do their dance together but you don't often get flamingos where one is just kind of shuffling out in the middle going woo I'm really beautiful. You have to have every single bird doing it at the same time. Of course there's always that awkward moment when someone has to make the first move. Fortunately experience steps in to lend a hand. Typically it's the oldest tallest males in the flock who are first to grace the dance floor. The first display that you're likely to see is something called head flagging. So the bird stands very tall it extends its head and its neck and it kind of moves its head from side to side okay and that's normally started by the tallest males in the flock okay not to say that the females don't get involved they're not like a peacock where you have the boys display and the females go maybe you know I'm not sure they all do it at the same time. But putting yourself out there doesn't always go according to plan. Timing is everything. So I do feel sorry for them sometimes when they want to do the head flagging and look really tall and everyone else is on one leg fast asleep. It's a bit sad. Overly eager youngsters are the ones who get it wrong most often. Being ignored by the rest of the flock is never a good look. Sticking your neck out is only the start. Scientists have discovered that flamingos have nine signature moves designed to show off their best assets. Another display that normally follows the head flagging which is called wing saluting. It's to basically give a sudden shock of colour against their uniform their pale body colour. Oh what are they all doing? So this is this whole let's all run in that direction yeah come on let's go and try and see if we can get everybody together doing the same thing at the same time. Very complicated isn't it? Yeah they don't do anything by hearse.