Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

Nashville Zoo flamingos reveal the oddball birds generate many types of vortices to eat. The swirls could be an inspiration to human engineers.

Flamingo Fluid Dynamics, Part 2: The Game's a Foot

Yesterday we saw how hunting flamingos use their heads and beaks to draw out and trap various prey. Today we take another look at the same study, which shows that flamingos use their footwork, too. If you watch flamingos on a beach, in muddy waters, or in a shallow pool, you’ll see them shifting back and forth as they lift and lower their feet. In humans, we might attribute this to nervous energy, but it turns out it’s another flamingo hunting h…