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Flamingos just might be the most extreme birds In the animal kingdom. Check out these three awesome adaptations to see why. Their legs have armour. Many of the world's six flamingo species live in water that's full of corrosive natural chemicals. Some wetlands - like Lake Natron in Tanzania, East Africa - are so alkaline that the water could strip off human skin! It can be a watery graveyard for many of the other birds that land there, and animals that perish in the lake are gradually mummified.
火烈鸟可能是动物王国中最极端的鸟类。以下三个原因使它们可以适应恶劣环境的生存。它们的腿有盔甲。世界上六种火烈鸟中有许多生活在充满腐蚀性天然化学物质的水中。一些湿地——比如东非坦桑尼亚的纳特龙湖——碱性很强，水可能会剥去人类的皮肤！它可能是许多其他鸟类的水上墓地，在那里湖中死去的动物逐渐变成木乃伊。
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They have elaborate mouths. Flamingos can eat food that's way too small for many other animals to eat, such as the algae, fly larvae and near- microscopic brine shrimp that live in their shallow, salt-water homes. Less competition means more food for flamingos. But eating these micro-meals requires several adaptations. Like the ocean's largest whales, flamingos are filter feeders. But instead of swimming for their dinner, they kick the mud where the food lives, dip their heads and slurp up their grub.
他们有精致的嘴巴。火烈鸟可以吃的食物太小，其他许多动物吃不下，比如藻类、蝇幼虫和生活在浅水区的近显微盐水虾。更少的竞争意味着火烈鸟有更多的食物。但是吃这些微餐需要一些适应性。和海洋中最大的鲸鱼一样，火烈鸟也是滤食者。但是它们没有游泳去吃晚饭的习惯，而是用脚踢食物所在的泥，低头，咕噜咕噜地吃着食物。
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They can drink salt water. Many flamingos live in hyper saline (or super-salty) lakes, marshes and lagoons. And some of those water habitats are fed by near-boiling hot springs. So, what do the birds drink? Salt water-minus the salt! Tiny organs called salt glands, located in their heads, filter out the salt from the water they sip, and the birds get rid of the salt through their nostrils. Even species that live in deserts, like the Chilean flamingo, have this adaptation to drink from pools in salt flats.
它们可以喝盐水。许多火烈鸟生活在高盐（或超盐）湖泊、沼泽和泻湖中。其中一些水栖息地是由接近沸腾的温泉供应的。那么，鸟儿喝什么？盐水去盐！位于头上的被称为盐腺的微小器官过滤掉它们啜饮的水中的盐，然后鸟类通过鼻孔排出盐。即使是生活在沙漠中的物种，比如智利火烈鸟，也有这种适应能力，可以从萨尔湖的池塘里喝水。
图文来源 | National Geographic
翻译 | 新译科技AI+人工校对
编辑、排版 | Jamin
