“Flamingos are super-specialized animals for filter feeding,” Ortega Jiménez said. “It’s not just the head, but the neck, their legs, their feet and all the behaviors they use just to effectively capture these tiny and agile organisms.”

Rather than passively filter-feeding, the birds use their heads, beaks and feet to generate motion in the water that funnels invertebrates into their mouths

Flamingos seem like some of the most elegant and serene creatures in the animal kingdom. But underneath their pink, shrimp-colored plumage lies a surprisingly aggressive predator and well-coordinated.