Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis Scientific name definitions

Breeding in saline lakes throughout the southern Andes and the lowlands of Argentina, the Chilean is the most common of the three strictly South American species of flamingo. Where all three co-occur in the altiplano of Peru, Bolivia and Chile, the Chilean Flamingo is best separated from other species by its blue grey legs with bright pink "knees," and by the pink base to its bill. Another potentially useful clue is its faster foraging rate, typically walking while feeding almost twice as fast as the other two species. This more rapid pace stirs the water sufficiently so that small groups of Wilson’s Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor) will cluster around their feet and feed on the prey that is churned up.

105 cm; 1720–2500 g (1 Pagano, L. G., and S. A. Salvador (2017). Datos de pesos de aves Argentinas. Parte 4. Historia Natural 7:21–43. Close ). Yellowish-grey legs with contrasting red knees and feet. Black of bill tip extends beyond bend; rest of bill very pale. Immature grey with brown and pink markings. Development of young divided into three age categories: chick (< 15 days old) has white down and salmon-pink bill and coral-red legs. Pre‐juvenile (1–3 months old) is covered in grey down (due to combination of double down coat) and when white down is shed, a brownish down coat is more evident; bill darker and legs are dark grey; and juvenile (4–5 months old) is characterized by vaned feathers, dorsal feathers are pale brown with dark rachis, underparts white and inner coverts are pale salmon, the bill is curved with a bluish base and charcoal-grey tip, and legs pale grey (2 Chiale, M.C., Montalti, D. and Maragliano, R. (2018). Age determination of captive Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) chicks based on plumage characteristics. Orn. Neotropical. 29: 107–110. Close ).

• Chilean x American Flamingo (hybrid) Phoenicopterus chilensis x ruber
• Chilean x Greater Flamingo (hybrid) Phoenicopterus chilensis x roseus

WC Ecuador S through Andes to Tierra del Fuego, extending E to S Brazil and Uruguay.

Coastal mudflats, estuaries, lagoons and salt lakes from sea level up to 4500 m. On lakes with fish (often introduced by man), species scarce or absent, but normally abundant on lakes without fish; most lakes highly saline and/or dry periodically. Normally breeds on islands and islets of mud or gravel, but also on stony islands in Chile, and on margins of large, sediment covered ice sheets in Bolivia.

Birds breeding in high Andes winter along the Pacific coast or move to lower latitudes within  Andes and to lower altitudes on C plains of Argentina (3 Caziani, S. M., Rocha Olivio, O., Rodríguez Ramírez, E., Romano, M., Derlindati, E. J., Tálamo, A., Ricalde, D., Quiroga, C., Contreras, J. P., Valqui, M. and Sosa, H. (2007). Seasonal distribution, abundance, and nesting of Puna, Andean, and Chilean flamingos. Condor. 109(2): 276–287. Close ). Birds abandon L Junín (Peru) in Feb–May, when water level is high. In Sept, flocks fly N from Tierra del Fuego, where species is not uncommon in winter. Dispersive movements also occur between lakes outside breeding season. Wintering birds occur regularly in Uruguay and in S Brazil: in Rio Grande do Sul , where large numbers may be present during Apr–Sept; a few reach SE Brazil occasionally, mainly in Sept–Dec (4 Bronzatto Medolago, C.A. and Ubaid, F.K. (2011). Review of the recorded sightings of Phoenicopterus chilensis (Phoenicopteriformes: Phoenicopteridae) in the southeast of Brazil and the first documented sighting in the interior of the state of São Paolo. Atualidades Orn.. 162: 8–10. Close ). Wintering birds may be occurring increasingly frequently in Paraguay, where they have bred: 5200 were reported in Chaco in 2005 (5 Lesterhuis, A., Clay, R. P. and del Castillo, H. (2008). Status and Distribution in Paraguay of the Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis). Flamingo. 16: 41–45. Close ). A nomadic visitor to Ecuador, occurring mainly on SW coasts N to Manabí province (6 Sánchez Nivicela, M. (2013). New records of Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis and Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan in mainland Ecuador. Cotinga. 35: 110–111. Close ). Vagrants have reached Falkland Is. 

Generalist. Takes aquatic invertebrates, including: crustaceans, e.g. brine shrimps (Artemia), copepods (Boeckella), cladocerans, ostracods and amphipods; larvae and pupae of Diptera, including chironomids (Paratrichocladius) and brine flies (Ephydra); corixids; and snails. Almost always feeds at sediment/water interface, often with entire neck submerged , advancing steadily and almost in straight line. Also treading or stomping in same spot; apparently commoner in some lakes where aquatic plant Ruppia forms sparse carpet on bottom replete with invertebrates. Occasionally flocks swim to filter planktonic cladocerans right at water surface.

Commonest call is a rather subdued goose-like nasal tri-syllabic “ka-ha-hann” or “ro-ro-roh”. Also more drawn-out single grunts with a similar tonal quality “cuuuuh”. Large feeding flocks typically maintain a continuous “kucking”.

Laying from Nov in S Argentina, Dec in Cordoba (C Argentina), Jan–Mar in altiplano, and Oct in extreme N of range at L Junín (Peru). Colonies are generally of up to 6000 pairs but up to 10,000 pairs have nested on islands in Mar Chiquita, Argentina (7 Bucher, E. H. (1992). Population and conservation status of flamingos in Mar Chiquita, Cordoba, Argentina. Colonial Waterbirds. 15(2): 179–184. Close ). In the Andes it often nests alongside P. andinus and/or P. jamesi. Nest is usually truncated cone of mud with shallow bowl on top; on rocky islands without mud, lays on bare ground. Nests on islets of floating vegetation (mainly Cynodon dactylon) have been found at the Ite coastland wetlands, southern Peru (8 Vizcarra, J. K. (2014). Descripción de un evento reproductivo y desarrollo de polluelos de Phoenicopterus chilensis en los Humedales de Ite, costa sur del Perú. Bol. UNOP. 9(2): 28–39. Close ). Single egg; incubation 27–31 days; chicks have pale grey down; fledging 70–80 days.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. The most numerous and widespread flamingo in South America, where a coordinated census in 2010 found 283,000 birds and estimated the global population at 300,000 (9 Marconi, P., A. L. Sureda, F. Arengo, M. S. Aguilar, N. Amado, L. Alza, O. Rocha, R. Torres, F. Moschione, M. Romano, H. Sosa, and E. Derlindati (2011) Fourth simultaneous flamingo census in South America: preliminary results. Flamingo 18: 48–53. Close ). Has probably declined but although its population was estimated at 500,000 birds in 1970s the apparent fall in numbers since then may be misleading and recent counts, using improved methodology, suggest that recent declines may not have been as serious as first thought. Nevertheless, it has probably been subject to intensive egg harvesting since arrival of man in South America; even in recent years, egg collectors have been responsible for partial or complete breeding failure of colonies in Bolivia. Post-1980 estimates suggested that there were c. 100,000 in Argentina; up to 30,000 in Chile ; and tens of thousands in Peru and Bolivia, where greatest concentrations occur, e.g. 100,000 at L Poopo, Bolivia, in 1972. Breeding occurs on altiplano lakes in Peru. Breeding at coastal wetlands was unknown in Peru until recently, when birds have nested successfully at the Ite wetlands, Tacna: there were at least 60 nests there in 2012 (8 Vizcarra, J. K. (2014). Descripción de un evento reproductivo y desarrollo de polluelos de Phoenicopterus chilensis en los Humedales de Ite, costa sur del Perú. Bol. UNOP. 9(2): 28–39. Close ). A marked decline has been noted in C Chile and in moist pampas of Argentina, due to alteration of habitat. Concentrations of up to 100,000 birds have been reported at Mar Chiquita, in Cordoba (N Argentina), where the species breeds in some years: 29,277 chicks fledged in 1977 (7 Bucher, E. H. (1992). Population and conservation status of flamingos in Mar Chiquita, Cordoba, Argentina. Colonial Waterbirds. 15(2): 179–184. Close ) and 45,000 in 1997; this locality is threatened by water abstraction and changes in salinity. Species breeds fairly well in captivity  and small feral populations have been reported in Europe and N America .