The Tierpark Dählhölzli is the public zoo of Bern, Switzerland. Opened in 1937 and operated by a private association, the Tierparkverein Bern, it is situated on the bank of the River Aare near the historical city center. The zoo exhibits some 3,000 animals on 15 hectares. It also cares for the bears exhibited in the Bärengraben.
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Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the genus Phoenicopterus (from Greek φοινικόπτερος meaning “purple wing”), the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas (Chilean, James’s, Andean and American Flamingo) and two species in the Old World (Greater and Lesser Flamingo).

A wide variety of birds have been proposed as their closest relatives, on a wide variety of evidence. As a result, flamingos are generally placed in their own order.
Traditionally, the long-legged Ciconiiformes, probably a paraphyletic assemblage, have been considered the flamingos’ closest relatives and the family was included in the order. Usually the ibises and spoonbills of the Threskiornithidae were considered their closest relatives within this order. Earlier genetic studies, such as those of Charles Sibley and colleagues, also supported this relationship. Relationships to the waterfowl were considered as well, especially as flamingos are parasitized by feather lice of the genus Anaticola, which are otherwise exclusively found on ducks and geese. Other scientists proposed flamingos as waders most closely related to the stilts and avocets, Recurvirostridae. The peculiar presbyornithids were used to argue for a close relationship between flamingos, waterfowl, and waders, but they are now known to be unequivocal waterfowl with a peculiarly derived morphology paralleling waders and flamingos.
[Source: Wikipedia]

Canon EOS 60D
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure time: 1/400s
Focal length: 300mm
ISO Speed: 500
Processed with PS CS5