Flamingos are well known for their gregarious habits and aggregations in large flocks, but evaluation of the mechanisms behind social grouping remain poorly understood. Captive birds provide a useful model for investigating aspects of social choice in highly gregarious, long-lived species. Animals invest in social relationships that convey fitness benefits and bonds can be long-lasting. For some species, field-based measurement of social networks can be difficult. Captive populations therefore provide a useful alternative for measuring social choices. Data were collected on flamingos at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre from 2013 to 2016 and compared to data from 2012. For three flocks, associations were analysed along with individual foot health scores to identify any relationship between health and social behaviour. Long-term partnerships were present in all flocks; preferred associates noted in 2012 were present in 2016. Matrix correlations across years were positive; arrangements of dyads, trios and quartets with higher ties strengths were visible at the beginning and end of the study. Both male-male and female-female bonds were stable over time. All flamingos were more frequently seen socialising than solitary; those in the largest flock showed the highest occurrence of social behaviour (irrespective of enclosure size differences). The number of connections realised from all available within a network was significantly influenced by season. Foot health did not predict associations in these three flamingo networks. Our results indicate that flamingo societies are complex (i.e. formed of long-standing preferential partnerships and not loose, random connections) and the impact of flock size and environment on sociality should be investigated further. These results are helpful for those working with captive flamingos to consider the number of birds housed so that an array of opportunities for choice of associate and/or breeding partner are available in zoo-housed flocks.

中文翻译：

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在五年内评估四群圈养火烈鸟的社交网络：时间、环境、群体和健康对分类的影响

火烈鸟以其大群的群居习惯和聚集而闻名，但对社会分组背后机制的评估仍然知之甚少。圈养鸟类为研究高度群居、长寿物种的社会选择方面提供了一个有用的模型。动物投资于传递健康益处的社会关系，并且关系可以是持久的。对于某些物种，基于现场的社交网络测量可能很困难。因此，圈养种群为衡量社会选择提供了一个有用的替代方案。2013 年至 2016 年在 WWT 斯利姆布里奇湿地中心收集了有关火烈鸟的数据，并与 2012 年的数据进行了比较。对于三只鸡群，结合个体足部健康评分分析了相关性，以确定健康与社会行为之间的任何关系。所有鸡群都有长期的伙伴关系；2012 年提到的首选合伙人出现在 2016 年。在研究的开始和结束时，可以看到具有更高联系强度的二重奏、三重奏和四重奏的安排。随着时间的推移，男性-男性和女性-女性的纽带都是稳定的。所有的火烈鸟都更频繁地社交而不是独处；最大群中的那些表现出最高的社会行为（无论围栏大小差异）。从网络内所有可用连接实现的连接数量受季节影响很大。足部健康并未预测这三个火烈鸟网络中的关联。我们的结果表明火烈鸟社会是复杂的（即由长期的优惠伙伴关系组成，而不是松散的、随机连接）以及羊群规模和环境对社会性的影响应进一步调查。这些结果有助于那些与圈养火烈鸟一起工作的人考虑圈养的鸟类数量，以便在动物园圈养的鸡群中提供一系列选择伙伴和/或繁殖伙伴的机会。