Greater flamingo

Greater Flamingo
At Bhigwan, Maharashtra, India
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Phoenicopteriformes
Family:	Phoenicopteridae
Genus:	Phoenicopterus
Species:	P. roseus
Binomial name
Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas, 1811
Synonyms
Phoenicopterus antiquorum

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia (coastal regions of Pakistan and India), and southern Europe (including Spain, Sardinia, Albania, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants, and records north of the breeding range are relatively frequent; however, given the species' popularity in captivity whether these are truly wild individuals is a matter of some debate. A single bird was seen on North Keeling Island (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) in 1988. Greater Flamingo is the state bird of Gujarat, India.

Description

This is the largest species of flamingo, averaging 110–150 cm (43–60 in) tall and weighing 2–4 kg (4.4–8.8 lbs). The largest male flamingoes have been recorded at up to 187 cm (74 in) tall and 4.5 kg (10 lbs). It is closely related to the American Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo, with which it has sometimes been considered conspecific, but that treatment is now widely seen (e.g., by the American and British Ornithologists' Union) as incorrect and based on a lack of evidence.

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.

Lifespan

The average age in captivity, according to Zoo Basel, is "over 60".

The oldest known greater flamingo, a resident of the Adelaide Zoo in Australia, is at least 77 years old. The bird's exact age is not known; however, he was already a mature adult when he arrived in Adelaide in 1933, and he is still there as of 2011.

Habitat

The bird resides in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water. Using its feet the bird stir up the mud, then sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms and mollusks.

In Captivity

Flamingo colony at Zoo Basel

The first recorded zoo hatch was in 1959 at Zoo Basel. In Zoo Basel's breeding program over 400 birds hatched with an average between 20 and 27 since the year 2000 .

Due to Basel's breeding success, most hatched flamingos cannot be kept in the zoo and are given to zoos around the world. Given the history and the large number of birds hatched in Basel since 1959, it can be concluded that most Greater Flamingo zoo colonies around the world are related to the one at Zoo Basel.

External links

• Greater Flamingo from the IUCN/Wetlands International Flamingo Specialist Group
• Flamingo Resource Centre - a collection of resources and information related to flamingos
• Greater Flamingo videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
• Performing Greater Flamingos in open field