Flamingo Facts

In the wild, six different flamingo species are recognized as belonging to small (in number) flamingo family, Phoenicopteridae.

• Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) ranges from West Africa to the Mediterranean to South Asia.
• American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) ranges from the Caribbean to the coastal areas of northern South America.
• Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) ranges on the West Coast of South America from Peru south to Chile and Argentina.
• Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) range extends from coastal East Africa to India and Pakistan.
• Andean Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) small range in the central Andes along the Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina borders.
• Puna Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi) named for the Andean region (Puna zone) it inhabits.

Here are eleven fun flamingo facts.

• All flamingos are water birds and live near inland and coastal brackish and salt water bodies such as estuaries, lakes and lagoons.
• All falmingos are social birds, gathering and nesting in colonies reaching the thousands.
• You are what you eat. Flamingos get their color from the chemicals in the algae, crustaceans and shrimp they eat.
• While all flamingos have some pink color in their feathers, flamingo color changes from species to species. American flamingos have the brightest feathers.
• Juvenile flamingos take up to two years to fully develop their color.
• The name describes the size. The Greater Flamingos (close to 6 feet tall) are the tallest flamingos and the Lesser Flamingos (less than three feet tall) are the smallest flamingos.
• Flamingos are filter feeders, using their bill and tongue to gather water, and the food in it, and then filter out the water.
• They mystery of why flamingos stand on one foot is not fully solved. However, researchers suggest that the practice allows the flamingo to dry its legs (one at a time) and conserve heat.
• Studying the wild flamingo life span in the wild can be difficult. In captivity, individual flamingos have been known to live for thirty years.
• Flamingos migrate to breeding grounds on an annual basis. Because they migrate during the night, scientists have started using satellite tracking to better understand their migration patterns.
• The Spanish world for flamingo is flamenco. The flamenco dance of humans is associated with the dance that flamingos perform as part of their courtship ritual.

© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels