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FLAMINGO FACT SHEET
Flamingos (genus
Phoenicopterus monotypic
in family Phoenicopteridae)
are gregarious wading birds,
usually 3–5 feet in height
living in large flocks around
aquatic areas. The bird is
found in both the Western
and Eastern Hemispheres
and is more numerous in the
latter. There are four
species in the Americas
while two exist in the Old
World.
DIET:
Flamingos filter-feed on
shellfish and algae. Their
oddly-shaped beaks are
specially adapted to
separate mud and silt from
the food they consume, and
are uniquely used upsidedown. The filtering of food
items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue.
Flamingos are also noted for balancing themselves on one leg while standing and feeding. Flamingos also stand on one
leg when sleeping.
COLOR:
The young hatch with white plumage, but the feathers of a flamingo in adulthood range from light pink to bright red, due to
carotenoids obtained from their food supply. A flamingo that is well fed and healthy is vibrantly colored. The pinker a
flamingo is, the more desirable it is as a mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or suffering from a
lack of food. All flamingos have 12 black flight feathers in each wing.
FEEDING:
Flamingos produce a “milk” like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin. It contains more fat and less
protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop.
Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for
about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.
ONE-LEGGED POSE:
Flamingos are known to stand on one leg while sleeping. This is done in order to minimize body heat escaping into the
water in which their feet are submerged.
EXTINCT SPECIES:
Flamingos were native to Australia 20 million years ago.
CHILEAN FLAMINGO:
The Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is a large species (110-130 cm) closely related to Caribbean Flamingo
and Greater Flamingo, with which it is sometimes considered conspecific. It occurs in temperate South America. Like all
flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. The plumage is pinker than the slightly larger Greater
Flamingo, but less so than Caribbean Flamingo. It can be differentiated from these species by its grayish legs with pink
"knees", and also by the larger amount of black on the bill (more than half).
LESSER FLAMINGO:
The Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) is a species in the flamingo family of birds which occurs in Africa (principally
in the Great Rift Valley), across to northwest India. It is the smallest and most numerous flamingo, probably numbering up
to a million individual birds. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. Most of the plumage is
pinkish white. Its clearest difference from Greater Flamingo, the only other Old World species, is the much more extensive
black on the bill. Size is less helpful unless the species are together, since the sexes of each species are also different in
height. This species feeds exclusively on the alga Spirulina plantensis, which occurs only in very alkaline lakes. Their
deep bill is specialized for tiny food items. The population in the two key east African lakes, Nakuru and Bogoria, have
been adversely affected in recent years by suspected heavy metal poisoning.
JAMES'S FLAMINGO:
The James's Flamingo (Phoenicopterus jamesi), also known as the Puna Flamingo, is a South American flamingo. It
breeds on the high Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. It is related to the Chilean Flamingo and the
Andean Flamingo. It is a small and delicate flamingo, approximately 3 feet in height. Its plumage is pale pink, with bright
carmine streaks around the neck and on the back. When perched, a small amount of black can be seen in the wings.
There is bright red skin around the eye. The legs are brick-red and the bill is bright yellow with a black tip. Immature birds
are grayish. James's Flamingo is similar to other South American flamingoes, but the Chilean Flamingo is pinker, with a
paler and longer bill, and the Andean Flamingo is larger with more black in the wings and bill, and yellow legs.
ANDEAN FLAMINGO:
The Andean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus andinus) is a bird species in the Flamingo family restricted to the Chilean Andes.
It is closely related to James's Flamingo. Like all flamingos it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. Its
population in Northern Chile was badly hit by drought, which cause the breeding lagoon areas to dry up, either preventing
nest building, or allowing predation especially from the Culpeo Fox, Pseudalopex culpaeus. Andean Flamingos, like all the
group, feed by filtering small items from water with their specialized bills. They have a deep, narrow lower mandible, which
allows them to eat small foods such as diatoms, in contrast to the wider bill of larger species, which take bigger prey
items. Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The Andean Flamingo is the only species that has yellow legs and feet.
GREATER FLAMINGO:
The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the Flamingo family. It is found in parts
of Africa, southwest Asia (including Turkey), southern Asia (coastal regions of India) and southern Europe (including
Spain, Portugal, and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants. This is a large
species, averaging 120-140 cm tall, and is closely related to the Caribbean Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo, with which it
is sometimes considered conspecific. Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound.
Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black.
The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking.
CARIBBEAN FLAMINGO:
The Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large species of flamingo closely related to the Greater Flamingo
and Chilean Flamingo, with which it is sometimes considered conspecific. It breeds in the Galapagos Islands, coastal
Colombia and Venezuela and nearby islands, the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, and in the northern Caribbean in the
Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba and Turks and Caicos. Most sightings in southern Florida are usually considered to be
escapees, although at least one bird banded as a chick in the Yucatán Peninsula has been sighted in Everglades National
Park, and others may be genuine wanderers from Cuba. The habitat is similar to that of its relatives, including saline
lagoons, mudflats and shallow brackish coastal or inland lakes. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a
mud mound. The Caribbean Flamingo is 120–140 cm in length; males weigh 2.8 kg and females 2.2 kg. Most of the
plumage is pink, giving rise to its earlier name of Rosy Flamingo and differentiating adults from the much paler European
species. The wing coverts are red, and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. It is the only flamingo which
naturally occurs in North America. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a
goose-like honking.