Part II of the presentation given at Fulbright Alumni Conference

1. American
Flamingo,
1838
John James
Audubon
(1785–1851)

2. 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?

3. 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.

4. • 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

5. Activity # 5
Activity # 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.

6. Top fragment

7. • 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.

8. • 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.

9. Discussion Topic/ Debates
Science 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?

10. 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.

11. EXTENSIO NS
Activity #1: R eading for inform ation
At hom e go to site of the cam paign Save Flam ingoes and answer questions about the
organization
http://www.savetheflam ingo.co.za/
1) W hat is the cam paign about?
2) W hat area is m entioned in the petition? W hy do flam ingoes inhabit this area?
W hy is it im portant to preserve it?
3) Do only flam ingoes suffer from the problem with the dam ?
4) W ho is running the cam paign?
5) W ould you like to sign the petition to support the project? Think up a good slogan
for the cam paign.

12. 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)

13. Individual Projects
Research 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?

14. 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.

15. American Gothic
Grant Wood 1930

17. 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?

18. Thank you!!