Flamingo Dystopia | LMAC Collage FreeStyle No. 94

The LMAC Community run by @shaka holds a weekly collage contest for its members. In the Community, you'll discover a variety of themed entries submitted for consideration. If selected for the final round, contest hopefuls anxiously await results indicating their placement that determines the prize awarded. It's a fun contest that any Hive member can participate. If you'd like to join in, just visit the LMAC Community account here and follow the rules of the contest for details on the latest round.

The LMAC Community also offers an opportunity for members to create and post in the Community "freestyle" collage themes. In the freestyle option, more freedom is allowed to design your creations without having to incorporate the weekly contest photo. However, contest rules still apply.

Please visit the Community page here for any questions on how to successfully publish in the LMAC Community.

For my Freestyle Collage No. 94, my theme is all about flamingos. How will they survive in a dystopian environment?

The Flamingo is a fascinating bird. I'm often in awe when I see them majestically standing on one leg in the water. This exotic bird is, in my opinion, a representation of nature's beauty. As a species, I dwelt on how it would survive in a dystopian world event. Would they be able to survive? I didn't know much about the Flamingo, so decided to delve into their species.

We've all noticed that there is never just one flamingo sighting as this species is overly social with groups consisting of thousands, known as flocks. A flamingo has a slender body and very long legs, a long, flexible neck and a small head with black flight feathers along the edges of the wings.. The flamingo's bill has a characteristic downward bend.

Compared with its long legs, a flamingo's feet are relatively small. The front three toes are webbed, and the back toe is either tiny or missing altogether. They walk easily and can run when threatened.

Six species of Flamingo exist.

• The Greater Flamingo. Is the largest species and has a long curved neck and restrictive black tip on the beak;

• American Flamingo (Caribbean Flamingo). Is also large but generally does not have such a pale plumage as the Greater Flamingo. In fact, the plumage is a striking deep pink coloring;

• Andean Flamingo. Has yellow beaks with black tips and a distinctive black triangle patch on its plumage.

• Chilean Flamingo. Only species to have grey legs with pink leg joints;

• James's Flamingo (Puna Flamingo). Has yellow beaks with black tips and bright red skin between the eye and the beak; and,

• Lesser Flamingo. Smallest Flamingo and has a dark red beak and dark yellow-orange eyes surrounded by a reddish-brown ring and dark bare skin between the eye and beak. ¹

Have you ever wondered why flamingos are pink? They are actually born with grey feathers. Later, they develop in various degrees a pink plumage. This change is a result of their natural diet of shrimp and algae which contain pigments called carotenoids. ¹

Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink, except for the gray-legged Chilean species.

When it comes to breeding, they have no specific season. However, when time is near, the ritual is so intense that the parents use all their energy during this time. Caring for their young drains them of the pink coloring.

Flamingo young are called "flaminglets" and are covered in gray fluffy down. During the breeding season, greater flamingos increase the frequency of their spreading uropygial secretions over their feathers and thereby enhance their color. This cosmetic use of uropygial secretions has been described as applying "make-up". ²

The Great Flamingo

The Great Flamingo species is the largest living and most widespread species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World (the Eastern Hemisphere - Europe, Africa, and Asia), they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Himalayas), the Middle East, the Levant, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe.

This species averages 43–59 in. tall and weighs 4 – 8 lbs. The largest male flamingos have been recorded to be up to 74 in. tall and weigh 9.9 lbs.
Source: ²

The American Flamingo

The American flamingo is one of the largest species of flamingo. They have a lifespan of about 40-60 years.

Breeding displays occur in large groups with, at times, thousands of individuals opening their wings or lifting up and turning their heads in one vast, synchronized movement. This group display appears to lure all the birds of the colony to the same readiness to mate. Perhaps this ritual is to ensure rapid, synchronized egg laying as soon as conditions allow.

Flamingos have no set breeding season, because breeding is highly linked to rainfall levels, which must be high enough to provide an adequate food supply. What I love about the flamingo pairs is that they are monogamous. Both parents help build a volcano-shaped nest. Once a single egg is laid, they incubate it for about twenty-eight days.

The chicks only have two weeks under their parents care. Once they are able to walk and swim, they joins a creche, or group of young flamingos. These groups can include up to 300,000 birds. The chicks are still fed by their parents, but guarded by an unrelated adult.
Source: ³

Now that's an incredible application of the "it takes a village to raise a child" concept.

Currently, no species of flamingos are listed on the endangered list. They are sturdy birds with scales on their legs that protect them. Also, an amazing fact I uncovered is that they can drink water at an almost boiling temperature.³

If they were forced to live in an environment where their natural food sources were diminished, then they would become vulnerable.

To create my theme, I relied heavily on several pure fractals I created in Apophysis 7X, the advanced version of the fractal rendering program. You can see the depth and detail of the fractal iterations, together with a more defined background even without rendering on a black background.

Below are the additional images I included to complete my dystopian theme. First, I located an awesome image of a female surrounded by flamingos. I wanted to portray the flamingos in their current habitat, then display the dark and desolate environment in the background. I feel that the images I chose to complement the flamingo image worked well.

Item	Contributor	Source
Contest Image (Round #212)	@lmac	Link
Contest (Round #209)	@lmac	Link
Dystopian City	Pixabay	Link
Female with flamingos	Pixabay	Link
Yellow Leaves	@rappler	Link
Yellow Flower	@rappler	Link
Small Elongated Mushroom	@borjan	Link
Fractal titled "Flower Twirl"	@justclickindiva	Link
Fractal titled "Universal Swirl Upright"	"	Link
Fractal titled "Xmas Bulb"	"	Link
Fractal titled "Roots-Multicolor"	"	Link
Fractal titled "Plastic-Abstract Background"	"	Link

Once I've compiled the images for my freestyle, I'm ready to blend. I uploaded my images to Canva. It's my design program I use to blend my images. Below are the procedures I use that incorporate the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

To a blank white canvas, I added the dystopian city image.

Resized and duplicated dystopian image to fill the entire canvas as the background.

Added the city, yellow flower, and yellow leaves.

Removed background of city and yellow flower and stems. Placed on female's head and resized. Completed project.

Below is my completed collage:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.