Wild Flamingo Facts

Flamingos look like delicate tropical birds but are in fact adapted to survive in some of the harshest habitats on Earth. The five species of flamingo are grouped in the same order as the herons and storks but are regarded by scientists as unique enough to have their own family, the Phoenicopteridae. The word flamingo comes from the Spanish dance called the flamenco. The wild courting display of the flamingo must have reminded the Spanish of their native flamenco dances. Flamingos have lived for as long as 70 years in zoos.

  1. Description

    • Flamingos have long legs and sinuous necks.

      Flamingos are characteristically tall and slender with a long, sinuous neck, long legs and a large curved bill. They are gregarious and tend to congregate on the shores of lakes and seas in large groups. All flamingo species are bright pink in the wild, absorbing the color from their food and turning white or gray in its absence.

    American Flamingos

    • There are four flamingo species found in the Americas:

      The Caribbean or American flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber, is found in the Galapagos Islands, the Caribbean and in coastal South America from Venezuela to Northern Brazil. It occurs on Cuba and has been introduced into Florida. The Chilean flamingo, P. chilensis, is similar to the Caribbean flamingo but slightly smaller. The Chilean flamingo is found in temperate south America from Argentina to Ecuador.

      The Andean flamingo, Phoenicoparrus andinus, is found only in the high Andes of Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. The James flamingo, P. jamesi, is the rarest of the flamingos and is found in the high Andes along with the Andean flamingo. It is distinguished by the yellow patch on its bill.

    Other Flamingos

    • The largest flamingo is the greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber roseus, which is up to 60 inches tall and is widely distributed across East Africa, South Asia and Southern Europe. It is closely related to the Caribbean and Chilean flamingos and may even be the same species.

      The lesser flamingo, P. minor, is the smallest species at only 40 inches in height and is also the most abundant. It is found in the Rift Valley of East Africa and breeds in salt lakes such as Lake Natron.

    Habitat

    • Flamingos live in brackish lakes and estuaries that are often too exposed or harsh for other birds to frequent. Some populations are migratory in areas such as the Andes where high altitude lakes freeze over in the winter. The densest populations of flamingo are found in the Rift Valley of East Africa, where over two million greater and lesser flamingos congregate in a few large salt lakes in huge flocks to feed and breed.

    Feeding

    • All flamingo species use their bills to sieve algae, diatoms and small organisms such as copepods out of water. They stand in shallow water and sweep their bills back and forth, stirring up the bottom. Flamingos then use their tongue to pump water through lamellae, or hairs, in their bill which filter out the food items.

    Breeding

    • Flamingos mate for life and build pyramidal nests out of mud in shallow water. A single egg is laid in a small hollow on top of the nest. Both parents incubate the eggs and look after the young. Flamingo babies eat a milklike secretion that is formed in their parent's crop.