Phoenicopteridae Flamingos
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Flamingos are perhaps best known for their long legs, sinuous neck, and pink plumage derived from the pigments in the organisms they eat. Although an iconic symbol of tropical beaches, some species inhabit lakes high in the Andes. With bills that are highly specialized for foraging on plankton, flamingos prefer lakes with the greatest concentrations of their tiny prey, often those that are so saline that no fish can survive to eat the plankton. Flamingos thus often nest on hypersaline lakes and lagoons, in dense colonies of distinctive volcano-like mud nests. One of the most beautiful spectacles in nature is the sight of dense foraging flocks taking flight over an otherwise lifeless expanse of water.
Habitat
Flamingos occupy large, shallow lakes and lagoons, from the coast to high montane valleys. The waters they frequent are often extremely saline—harsh aquatic habitats that can be very productive and support a vast number of flamingos. At the same time, supporting few other vertebrates, these areas are often relatively predator-free.
Diet and Foraging
Flamingos feed on a variety of small aquatic invertebrates (small crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and other planktonic organisms) and plant material (usually algae). Using their large fleshy tongues as pistons, flamingos filter food out of water or mud by pushing it through the comb-like lamellae in their extraordinary bills. They also occasionally feed on larger prey by grasping it with their bill and tossing it into their mouths.
Breeding
Flamingos appear to be monogamous, and they nest in enormous groups—up to one million Lesser Flamingos Phoenicopterus minor breed in some locations in Africa. These massive groups are conducive to large group courtship displays before pairs break off to mate and begin nesting. A flamingo nest consists of a narrow cone of mud with a shallow depression on the top, and is usually constructed on mudflats, salt flats, or other low-lying areas in the midst of salt pans. In particularly large colonies, nest densities can be as high as five nests per square meter. Females typically lay 1 egg, very rarely 2, and incubation, which takes 27 to 31 days, is shared by both parents, as are brooding and provisioning of their chick. At an age of about 5 to12 days old, chicks leave the nest to join large crèches of mobile chicks, which are attended by a few adults although each chick is fed by its own parents in the teeming mass of young birds. At first, hatchlings feed exclusively on a liquid secreted from their parents’ upper digestive tracts (similar to pigeon crop milk). After four to six weeks, flamingo chicks can efficiently feed on their own, although they still may receive food from their parents until fledging at about 10 to12 weeks of age.
Conservation Status
Although all species of flamingos currently exist in large populations, some species (67%) are declining rapidly (3 NT, 1 VU). The Andean Flamingo Phoenicoparrus andinus is considered vulnerable because of pressures arising from habitat degradation (caused by mining activities and erosion), human disturbance, and hunting pressures. The Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis, Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor, and Puna Flamingo Phoenicoparrus jamesi all suffer from habitat degradation as well, and are considered near threatened.
Systematics History
The unique morphology of Phoenicopteridae has long rendered these birds a perplexing systematic puzzle. This family has often been linked to Ciconiidae on the basis of shared morphological traits (Cracraft 1981, Livezey & Zusi 2007). Other morphological evidence suggests that Phoenicopteridae may fall within Charadriiformes, close to Recurvirostridae (Feduccia 1976). In contrast, recent molecular studies have found strong support for a sister relationship between Phoenicopteridae and Podicipedidae (van Tuinen et al. 2001, Ericson et al. 2006a, Fain & Houde 2007, Hackett et al. 2008), and new analyses of morphological data further support this previously unanticipated affinity (Mayr 2004, Mayr 2007). The species-level relationships within Phoenicopteridae have not yet been comprehensively studied.
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
33.3%
|
---|---|
Near Threatened |
50%
|
Vulnerable |
16.7%
|
Endangered |
0%
|
Critically Endangered |
0%
|
Extinct in the Wild |
0%
|
Extinct |
0%
|
Not Evaluated |
0%
|
Data Deficient |
0%
|
Unknown |
0%
|
Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information