Behavioral laterality in Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

What is it about?

Our study focused on understanding how Greater Flamingos prefer using their left or right sides when performing behaviors. This phenomenon, known as lateralization, can play a crucial role in how individuals coordinate within their group. Observing flamingos in Eilat, over four days in November and December 2019, we recorded behaviors such as resting, preening, scratching, and vigilance. We aimed to determine if these behaviors showed a tendency towards left or right-side dominance and if this varied at the population level. Our findings revealed that behaviors requiring higher coordination within the flock, like vigilance and scratching, were predominantly performed using the left side of the body. No such preference was observed for resting and preening behaviors. This suggests that flamingos use lateralization strategically, particularly when synchronizing movements or responding to potential threats. Interestingly, while both preening and scratching are maintenance behaviors, only scratching exhibited significant left-side dominance. We speculate this could be due to the space needed for scratching, potentially affecting neighboring individuals. Our study underscores the importance of observing animals in their natural habitats to unravel the intricacies of their behaviors. It also supports previous research indicating consistent patterns of lateralization in Flamingos across different geographical locations, affirming these behaviors are inherent to the species.

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