Fascinating Facts About the Greater Flamingo

2. Scientific Name:Phoenicopterus Ruber • Kingdom:Animalia • Class:Aves • Phylum: Chordata • Order:Phoenicopteriformes • Family:Phoenicopteridae • Genus:Phoenicopterus • Species:Greater Flamingo

3. 5 birds similar to the Greater Flamingo are: • Limpkin • Glossy Ibis • Roseate Spoonbill • Chinese Egret • Western Reef-Heron These birds all have rounder bodies with long legs. Mostly living on habitats surrounded by water.

4. The Greater Flamingo is usually a vibrant pink or reddish color, coming from the pigments in the food it eats. • Flamingos from other parts of the world (not North or South America), are usually paler pink. • The male Greater Flamingo is usually larger than the female. • These birds can grow up to 5 feet tall. (60 in.) • Greater Flamingos usually weigh around 9 lbs. They do not weigh very much because most of their body is made up of leg.

5. In this image, on the left you see a larger, male flamingo; Whereas on the right you see a smaller, female flamingo. It is highly difficult to see the physical difference between male and female flamingos. The only major physical difference is their size.

6. This vibrant, pink bird is the Greater Flamingo. You can see that it has a black-tipped bill, and very thin legs. This bird is the largest species of flamingo, and is the only type able to be found at all in North and South America.

7. This map is a map showing the distribution of Greater Flamingos. Some of the more common locations are Columbia, Brazil, French Guana, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and other countries that are colored green. They choose to live in various locations with similar warm, tropical climates. Usually Greater Flamingos live on large, salt lakes, or estuarine lagoons that have very little vegetation. Flamingos live on both saltwater and freshwater.

9. On the ICUN Red List, the Greater Flamingo is listed as… LEAST CONCERNED This means that we currently do not have to worry about the Greater Flamingo. -Flamingos only lay 1-2 eggs per year. Their numbers do increase by that, but not by much. -Keep in mind that flamingos do die, and people do hunt them. -If more start to die, there is a good chance they could go extinct. -Right now this birds number is stable.

10. The male and female Greater Flamingo typically stay together throughout the incubation process. • They have a monogamous mating system. (Only one mate.) • The female will lay 1 egg per breeding season, 2 per year. If she lays multiple eggs usually they will not hatch. • The Greater Flamingo is usually around 6 years of age when it begins to breed. • Baby flamingos have lighter color and downy-like feathers.

11. Both parents take care of the chick. • The chicks stay with their parents 5-8 days and then they form groups with other chicks called “creches”. • The parents will continually care for their young until it is unneeded. • The chicks begin to fly around 65-90 days old.

12. A Greater Flamingo can live a long life. They can live 25-60 years. The male and female bird life the same lifespan. There is not an average amount of years expected to live, for the Greater Flamingo. Birds in captivity live longer. They are kept safer from predators, which is the biggest cause of flamingo deaths.

13. The Greater Flamingo does not have any seasonal patterns or go through the following: • Hibernation • Torpor • Sometimes the Greater Flamingo will migrate to a warmer climate, but usually it is unnecessary, considering it lives in a tropical climate.

14. The Greater Flamingo eats insects, worms, vegetation, and algae. • To get most of their food they have to swim deeper in the water and get it out there. • Alpha and beta carotenoid pigments, consisting also of canthaxanthin, makes up the part of the diet that gives the flamingo its pink and red feathers, legs, and face coloring.

15. Humans destroy flamingo habitats. • Prevents Flamingos food sources. • Weird humans eat flamingo eggs and the flamingo itself. • Flamingos die. • Humans are not a flamingos biggest worry. Flamingos are the prey of many animals such as: The Lappet-faced Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Marabou Stork, Eagle, Black Kite, Turkey Vulture, foxes, badgers, Wild Boars, and Yellow-legged Gulls.

16. The coolest fact about a Greater Flamingo is its color. The Greater Flamingo gets its color from the pigments in the foods it eats, like shrimp!

17. Works Cited The Animal Files. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://www.theanimalfiles.com/birds/flamingos/ greater_flamingo.html>. "FLAMINGOS." Seaworld. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/ info-books/flamingo/habitat-&-distribution.htm>. "FLAMINGOS." SeaWorld. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/ info-books/flamingo/diet.htm>. "Greater Flamingo." Birds.com. NewMedia Holdings, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.birds.com/ species/f-j/greater-flamingo/>. "Greater flamingo." Bristol Zoo Gardens. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/greater-flamingo>.

18. Works Cited "Greater Flamingo." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/greater-flamingo/>. "Greater Flamingos, Phoenicopterus ruber." Marine Bio. MarineBio.org, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=170>. "The Living Flamingo." bethel337.org. N.p., 10 Apr. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.bethel337.org/docs/flamingo_living.pdf>. Malone, Jean M. Flamingos. N.p.: Penguin Group, 2009. Print. All Aboard Science Reader. Meziani, Adam. "Phoenicopterus Ruber." Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Phoenicopterus_ruber.html>. WhatBird.com. Mitch Waite Group, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/All/ birds_na_147/20/Body%20Shape/54/Long-legged-like>. "Why do some animals hibernate in winter?" Coolquiz.com. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/hibernate.asp>.