A flamingo can eat only when its head is upside down. Flamingos are gregarious wading birds. They are found in both the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere, but are more numerous in the former. Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The flamingo's characteristic pink colouring is caused by the Beta carotene in their diet. The source of this varies by species, but shrimp and blue