American Flamingo,

1838John James

Audubon (1785–1851)

Activity #2

• 1) In what area can flamingos be found?

• 2) What do you think they feed on?

• 3) What color are the birds? Does the color change depending on circumstances? What kind of circumstances are these?

• 4) Are flamingos in danger now?

Activity #3 Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious shorebirds. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the Old World.

Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Some suggest that the flamingo, like some other animals, has the ability to have half of its body go into a state of sleep, and when one side is rested, the flamingo will swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven. Recent research has indicated that standing on one leg may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

Young flamingos hatch with grey plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly coloured and thus a more desirable mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. This is changing as more zoos begin to add prawns and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos. Scientists have discovered that flamingos are dying by the thousands along the Great Rift Valley lakes of Kenya and Tanzania.

• gregarious animals – animals or birds who live in groups

• shorebird (wading bird) - any bird with long legs that stands in the water while it hunts for fish

• swap - to replace one thing with another • webbed feet - if a bird or animal has webbed feet,

it has skin between its toes to help it to swim well.• hatch -if a baby bird, fish, insect etc hatches or is

hatched, it comes out of its egg and is born • plumage - a bird’s feathers • vibrant – 1) lively and exciting 2) bright and

colourful • malnourished - weak or ill because you do not eat

enough or do not eat enough of the right foods

Activity # 5Activity # 5: Discussing the painting Ask students 1)

What they notice first when they look at this print. It will probably be the size and colour of the flamingo.

What is in the background of this print? We find other flamingos, marshes, water. What are the birds doing in this image? They appear to be looking for food. Ask students why they think Audubon painted his subjects life-size rather than

just creating smaller pictures of them. He wanted viewers to understand the actual size of these birds and to see the details in their bodies and wings.

Why do you think that Audubon positioned the flamingo like this with its neck

bent down? He wished to fit this big bird on the page, to create a pleasing composition, and to show how this tall bird was able to eat food in the water.

Top fragment

• Born in Haiti and educated in France, John James Audubon (1785-1851) settled permanently in the USA at the age of 21. He found occasional employment as a taxidermist, portrait painter, and drawing teacher, while he pursued his "Great Work," Birds of America - a comprehensive artistic record of North American birds. Unlike the way birds were being drawn at the time––as still images––Audubon’s pictures presented them the way they really looked in the wild.

• To make Birds of America useful to both professional and amateur ornithologists, Audubon portrayed his subjects at eye level so that their distinctive markings would be clearly visible. 435 plates were sized to accommodate Audubon's depictions of bird specimens.

• Ask the students what they think the sketches at the top represent. How do we call bird feet like this?

• Ask students to speculate about why they have been left in the print.

• Have students explain what makes this print an artwork rather than just a scientific illustration.

• Ask students if they think this flamingo looks alive or dead.

Discussion Topic/ DebatesScience and Ethics

• Can scientists kill animals or birds for the sake of research?

• Is there such a thing as “animals’ rights”? Should they be legalized?

Watch a National Geographic video Flamingoes of Bogoria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYW2SD-rHuM&feature=PlayList&p=869FF62EA75A842D&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=24

1) Do flamingoes live in large flocks? How do we call birds like that? 2) Are flamingoes beautiful birds? 3) What kind danger do flamingoes face? 4) How do ill flamingoes look? 5) Is it possible to save and protect flamingoes? How? Go to Slide #6 In groups of three describe the pictures. Use the information of the text and the video.

EXTENSIONS Activity #1: Reading for information At home go to site of the campaign Save Flamingoes and answer questions about the organization http://www.savetheflamingo.co.za/

1) What is the campaign about? 2) What area is mentioned in the petition? Why do flamingoes inhabit this area?

Why is it important to preserve it? 3) Do only flamingoes suffer from the problem with the dam? 4) Who is running the campaign? 5) Would you like to sign the petition to support the project? Think up a good slogan

for the campaign.

Activity #2: Writing Imagine that you are a flamingo or any other animal in danger (probably the one you would be if you were an animal) Write a letter to National Geographic Journal appealing to the readers to think about your fate. To express your point, please, use Conditional Type II (which is often used for expressing hidden request) e.g.: If people cared more about preserving the nature around, we, flamingoes, wouldn’t die of pesticides in the water, etc. You may use the words from the texts and the following words to help you: Natural habitat Captivity (n) To migrate (v) Extinct (adj) Endangered (adj) Nourishment (n) Population (n), to populate (v) Congregation (n) Flock (n)

Individual ProjectsResearch Questions

•Based on the work of art:

Audubon’s “Birds of America”: An artistic or a scientific project?

•Connecting the painting and contemporary culture:

Plastic Flamingos in American Pop Culture: How and why it has become kitsch?

Plastic Flamingoes• Pink plastic flamingos

are one of the most famous of lawn ornaments in the United States, along with the garden gnome and other such ornamentation. These official flamingos were sold in pairs, with one standing upright and the other with its head low to the ground, "feeding". Plastic flamingos have become the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch and an icon of pop culture.

American Gothic Grant Wood 1930

Research questions:

• Are the characters of “American Gothic” fictional or real?

• Why has this painting inspired so many spoofs?

• How does this phenomenon characterize contemporary pop culture?

Thank you!!