Monday, November 1, 2010

Physical Differences in Chilean Flamingos

Differences between the Chilean Flamingos:

1. The colour of pink they are, is a continuous trait because there are so many tints and shades of pink that you can't group certain flamingos by their colour.

2. How far the black extends on their beaks, is a continuous trait because it depends on how long their beak is, which can determine the length of the black. 

3. How long their legs are, is a continuous trait because there are baby Flamingos, adult and elderly Flamingos.There all different heights within an age group.  

4. Their weight, is a continuous trait because some of them eat more than others and some are just smaller in general.

5. Their height, is a continuous trait because it depends on how tall the parents are, and every Flamingo is different, so there is a wide range on how tall the Flamingos are.

6. How long their the necks are is a continuous trait because there is so many factors that could change neck length,like genetics, and not every Flamingo has the same genes so there are so many possibilities of neck length.

7. Wing span, is a continuous trait because it depends on how big the Flamingo is, and if they are all different sizes that means that there are many lengths of wing spans. An adult Flamingo wouldn't have the same wing span as a baby Flamingo.

8. The size of their body (torso),is a continuous trait because it all depends on the weight of the Flamingo because most of the weight is concentrated on the torso, so if they weigh a lot then the torso must be pretty big. 

9. The angle the beak bends at is a discrete trait because the beak can only bend so much and if it's bent at, for example, 90 degrees there must have been a birth defect.

10. The amount of black feathers they have is a discrete trait because some Flamingos don't have them and some do. There are only 2 options.


http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/chilean_flamingo_1.jpg