Flamingos are tall wading birds known for their pink feathers, long legs, curved necks and sharply bent bills. They belong to the family Phoenicopteridae, and there are six living species of flamingos: four in the Americas, including the Caribbean, and two in Africa, southern Europe and Asia.
Their famous color is not something they are born with. Flamingo chicks hatch greyish, and adults turn light pink to bright red from carotenoid pigments in the brine shrimp, algae and other tiny food they filter out of shallow, salty water.
Flamingos: key facts
- Family: Phoenicopteridae, the only living family in the order Phoenicopteriformes
- Species: six (greater, lesser, American, Chilean, Andean and James’s flamingo)
- Height: 120 to 145 cm (47 to 57 in) for the greater and American flamingo; 80 to 90 cm (31 to 35 in) for the lesser flamingo, the smallest species
- Weight: 2.1 to 4.1 kg (4.6 to 9.0 lb) in the two largest species
- Wingspan: from about 95 cm (37 in) in the lesser flamingo to 165 cm (65 in) in the greater and American flamingo
- Diet: brine shrimp, blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), larvae, insects, mollusks and small crustaceans
- Eggs: a single chalky-white egg laid on a mud mound; in the American flamingo it hatches after 28 to 32 days
- Lifespan: the American flamingo can live around 40 years, one of the longest lifespans of any bird
- Group name: a flamboyance, or a stand
Sources: Wikipedia: Flamingo and Wikipedia: American flamingo.
The six flamingo species
All six flamingo species share the same basic body plan and filter-feeding habit, but they differ in size, color and where they live.
Greater flamingo
The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the largest and most widespread species. It lives across Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Mediterranean countries of southern Europe. It has pale pink plumage.
Lesser flamingo
The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is the smallest species, but it often gathers in the largest flocks. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa and western India and feeds mostly on blue-green algae, which it strains out with very fine filters in its bill.
American flamingo (Caribbean flamingo)
The American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), also called the Caribbean flamingo, is the brightest of all flamingos, with deep pink to reddish feathers. It is native to the West Indies, northern South America including the Galapagos Islands, and the Yucatan Peninsula, and it is the only flamingo that lives naturally in North America. It was once common in southern Florida, but was largely wiped out there by 1900 and is now an uncommon visitor.
Chilean flamingo
The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) stands 110 to 130 cm (43 to 51 in) tall and breeds in South America from Ecuador and Peru to Chile, Argentina and Brazil. The IUCN lists it as Near Threatened, because the salt lagoons and soda lakes it depends on are vulnerable to mining, irrigation and pollution.
Andean flamingo
The Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) lives on high-altitude salt lakes in the Andes mountains of South America. It is closely related to James’s flamingo, and it often nests in shared colonies with Chilean and James’s flamingos.
James’s flamingo (puna flamingo)
James’s flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi), also called the puna flamingo, lives on the high Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and northwest Argentina. It was thought to be extinct until a population was found in a remote area in 1956.
Why are flamingos pink?
Flamingos get their bright colors from carotenoids in their food. Their liver breaks these pigments down and deposits them in the growing feathers, skin and legs.
How pink a flamingo is depends on its diet. American flamingos are a brighter red because their food is rich in beta carotene, while lesser flamingos are paler. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vividly colored, which makes it a more attractive mate. A white or very pale wild flamingo is usually sick or underfed.
Flamingos in zoos can fade to pale pink unless keepers add carotenoids to their diet.
Body and adaptations
Legs and feet
Flamingos have very long legs for wading through water. The joint that seems to bend backwards halfway up the leg is actually the ankle, not the knee. Their webbed feet help them swim and keep them from sinking into soft mud, and they stamp their feet to stir up food from the bottom.
Bill and filter feeding
A flamingo’s bill is bent in the middle and is used upside down. Inside it are rows of comb-like plates called lamellae. The flamingo pumps water through its bill with its large tongue, and the lamellae trap small food items while mud and water are pushed back out. By rapidly pulling its head back and chattering its bill, a flamingo also creates small whirlpools that stir up shrimp and sediment.
Flamingos prefer to drink fresh water, but salt glands near their eyes let them drink salty water too.
Standing on one leg
Flamingos often stand on one leg with the other tucked under the body. Scientists are not completely sure why. One idea is that it saves body heat when they stand in cold water. Another is that it saves energy: a study on flamingo bodies found the one-legged pose can be held with no muscle effort, and living flamingos sway less on one leg than on two.
Flight
Flamingos are strong fliers, which is why zoo flamingos often have their wings clipped. When they fly, they stretch out their necks in front and trail their legs behind.
Where do flamingos live?
Wild flamingos live in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Central and South America. They prefer shallow water that is often salty or alkaline, such as:
- Salt lakes and soda lakes
- Coastal lagoons
- Mudflats
- Estuaries
Flocks move between lakes as water levels and food supplies change.
What do flamingos eat?
Flamingos are omnivores. They filter-feed on brine shrimp, blue-green algae, insect larvae, small mollusks and crustaceans. Different species prefer different foods: lesser flamingos eat mostly algae, while the larger species eat more small animals.
Here is how a flamingo feeds:
- It lowers its head upside down into the water
- It pumps water in and out of its bill with its tongue
- The lamellae inside the bill catch tiny food particles
- Mud and excess water are pushed back out
Breeding and chicks
Group displays
Before breeding, big flamingo colonies split into groups of about 15 to 50 birds. These groups perform synchronized displays: they stretch their necks upward, call while flagging their heads from side to side, and flap their wings. The displays help unpaired birds find mates and get the colony nesting at the same time. Studies have also found that larger flocks breed more successfully.
Nest and egg
Both parents build a raised nest mound of mud and defend it. The female lays a single egg, and both parents take turns keeping it warm.
Crop milk and creches
Both the male and the female feed the chick crop milk, a fatty, protein-rich liquid made in glands lining the upper digestive tract. After about one to two weeks the chicks leave the nest, and at around two weeks old they gather in groups called creches, which can grow to thousands of chicks. Young flamingos can fly once their flight feathers finish growing, at around three to three and a half months old.
Social life
Flamingos live in colonies that can number in the thousands. Living in big groups helps them avoid predators, find food and make the best use of scarce nesting sites. Pairs form strong bonds, though in large colonies birds sometimes change mates.
Flamingos are noisy birds, with calls ranging from grunts and growls to nasal honking. Calls help parents and chicks recognize each other and keep flocks together. Research on zoo flocks found that flamingos also form lasting friendships with particular birds.
Flamingos and people
Flamingos have fascinated people for thousands of years. The Moche people of ancient Peru often showed flamingos in their art, and wealthy ancient Romans treated flamingo tongues as a delicacy. Today the flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas, and the pink plastic lawn flamingo, designed by Don Featherstone in 1957, is an American icon.
The oldest known flamingo, a greater flamingo named Greater, was at least 83 years old when it died at Adelaide Zoo in Australia in 2014.
Threats and conservation
Because flamingos depend on a limited number of salty lakes and lagoons, damage to those wetlands hits them hard. The main threats are habitat loss, water pollution, mining and water use for irrigation, which can degrade breeding lakes quickly. Egg collecting and disturbance at nesting colonies also reduce how many chicks survive.
Protecting the wetlands where flamingos feed and breed is the most important thing people can do to keep flamingo populations healthy.
Frequently asked questions
How many species of flamingos are there?
There are six: the greater, lesser, American (Caribbean), Chilean, Andean and James’s flamingo. Four live in the Americas and two in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Why are flamingos pink?
Flamingos are pink because of carotenoid pigments in the brine shrimp and algae they eat. Chicks hatch greyish and gain their color as they grow and feed.
Why do flamingos stand on one leg?
Nobody knows for certain. The leading ideas are that it saves body heat in cold water and that it takes almost no muscle effort, so it saves energy.
Where can you see wild flamingos in the United States?
The American flamingo is the only flamingo native to North America. It was largely wiped out in Florida by 1900, but it still visits southern Florida and a few small groups may live there.
How long do flamingos live?
American flamingos can live around 40 years in the wild, which is one of the longest lifespans of any bird. A captive greater flamingo at Adelaide Zoo lived to at least 83.