Summary
On a remote Tanzanian soda lake, more than a million lesser flamingos hatch, grow, and take flight in one of nature's strangest nurseries. The film follows the birds' full life cycle in a harsh, salt-crusted habitat where predators and the land itself test the young chicks. A patient, striking study for older elementary students interested in life cycles and adaptation.
Viewer safety
Predators stalk and kill flamingo chicks in three separate scenes, and some chicks are left behind to die -- best for grades 4-6; preview first.
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
"The Crimson Wing" follows a million flamingos through birth, growth, and their first flight.
- What are the main stages in a flamingo's life cycle shown in the film?
- What makes the soda-lake habitat so difficult for the young chicks?
- Which flamingo feature (like its beak or long legs) helps it survive there, and how?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: life cycle, hatch, colony, habitat, adaptation.
Try it: Draw a four-step life cycle of a flamingo (egg, chick, young bird, adult). Add one label for a body part that helps it survive.