<DIV><i> The shallow lake is crowded with flamingos. A few stand on a toothpick leg and doze. Others dip their heads upside down into the cloudy water to eat. But most sit on a mud nest to shade an egg from the blistering sun.</i><br><br><b>Follow a flamingo from egg through adulthood in this fascinating tale</b><br><br>On a muddy mound in a salty lake, a mother and father flamingo take turns protecting their egg from the hot sun. Soon a fluffy white chick hatches in the nest near the mangrove roots. <br>Just four days later the chick learns to swim. By the time he is five weeks old, he can find food for himself. When pink feathers replace his white baby down, he is ready to learn to fly.<br><br>For years the young bird flocks with other flamingos in quiet lagoons and salty lakes. At last he finds a mate and returns to the mud city near the mangrove trees to build a nest of his own.<br></div>