FLAMINGO

[fla.min.go] n, pl -gos also -goes [obs. Sp flamengo (now flamenco), lit., Fleming, German (conventionally thought of as ruddy-complexioned)] (1565): any of several large aquatic birds (family Phoenicopteridae) with long legs and neck, webbed feet, a broad lamellate bill resembling that of a duck but abruptly bent downward, and usu. rosy-white plumage with scarlet wing coverts and black wing quills