I t is late spring at Kenya’s Lake Nakuru National Park and more than 2,000 lesser flamingos have arrived to join a colony numbering in the 100,000s For each bird the time has come to select a mate and with tens of thousands of individuals from which to choose the choice is neither quick nor easy Small groups form as the birds begin their mating dance by scurrying through the shallow water at the lake’s edge
Moving as one they turn their heads to the left and then quickly to the right repeating this motion as they zigzag through the water like a floating carpet of pink feathers A female bird breaks away from the crowd An interested male follows her The two circle each other bobbing their heads to signal their acceptance of the other They will remain bonded with each other as they build a nest and raise a chick
