News Animals

Flamingos create precise water vortices in a shrimp-hunting frenzy

Vortex creation in filter feeding animals is rare

Close up of a pair of preening Chilean flamingos in the water.

Flamingos’ flat beaks and agile feet allow them to churn small prey to the surface in precise water columns and easily scoop them up.

wellsie82/Getty Images

By Elie Dolgin

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

Tornado-generating beaks and whirlpool-stirring feet help flamingos transform shallow waters into shrimp-swirling death zones — corralling agile prey with the flair of a Las Vegas stage act and the efficiency of a Dyson vacuum.