Cindy Davis, age 14, of Bryson City, N.C., for her question:

DO PINK FLAMINGOS TURN WHITE?

Flamingos are certainly rated by almost everyone as being among the most beautiful of all birds. They are graceful and gregarious. You'll find the four different species spread around the world: two types are found only in the high Andes of southern South America while others can be found in all large land areas of the world where there's warm weather, with the exception of Australia.

Some flamingos stand more than five feet high and reach lengths of more th n six feet. They're famous for their long legs and necks.

The birds come in a number of different colors, and for this reason many people believe they fade from an original pink to white. Actually, some are brightly colored with crimson and deep rose, while others are all white with crimson on the wings. All have strong splashes of crimson somewhere in their plumage and all also have prominent black flight feathers.

Flamingos have unusual bills that look a little like those of geese. The lower part of the bill resembles a box while the upper part looks like a thin, profusely laminated lid that just fits snugly. Upper and lower parts are both bent sharply just in front of the nostrils, apparently so that the bill in an inverted position may be raked backward and forward like a scoop, each sweep sieving food from the mud.

The birds like to stand in brackish or fresh water several inches deep. The long legs make them fancy waders. They have webbed feet, however, and are good swimmers, too.

Flocks of several hundred to many thousand gather and build their nests in muddy areas. One or two eggs are laid with both mother and father then taking turns with nest duty. In about 30 days the flamingo chicks emerge. After just two days they will be in the water swimming. The parents feed the babies for about two weeks, and then they are off to join bands and wander around independently.

While resting, flamingos often stand on one leg with the other drawn up and pressed into the feathers of the flank. It's an odd looking posture because the bend of the long, gangling leg projects far behind the tail, while the neck  long, also, and snakelike in its convolutions  is draped over the chest and back with the head snuggled under the scapulars of the back. It's a strange sight, all right.

Motion picture films of flamingos in flight are often spectacular. They rise in a pink white cloud, dramatically swirling as they climb into the sky.

You'll find the beautiful flamingo in most zoos today, and also a semidomesticated flock of them living at the Hialeah race track in Florida. But, unfortunately, large flocks are now rare except in remote places including South America, Africa and Spain.