Richard Collins: Flamboyant flamingos researched

They look only fabulous of course — but are flamingos particularly vain, and do they spend more time preening than other birds?

The long feathers that droop over a flamingo's back (and all birds) are called scapular feathers. They grow out of the top of the wing where it joins the body, in a similar place to the human collarbone. Flamingos fluff them out for display and communication. Picture: Dr Paul Rose / WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre

I was very fond of Ingrid. She was an amazing woman. She used no makeup, not even lip rouge — Cary Grant.

Birds are admirers of the glamorous Ingrid Bergman — they don’t use makeup — ‘What you see is what you get'. That is hardly surprising... how do you apply lipstick using only a beak? There are exceptions, however. The lammergeier, Europe's rarest vulture, uses a cosmetic. So do flamingos.