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American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus Ruber)

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American Flamingo

Appearance: - The large American Flamingo has a deep pink plumage, primary and secondary flight feathers are black and wing coverts are red, a pink and white beak with a restrictive black tip, and pink legs and webbed feet. The eyes are orange-yellow colour. Both sexes are alike but the male is slightly larger.

Size: - Typical Adult is 120-140cm (47-55in).

Food: - Algae, diatoms, insects, crustaceans and shrimp. Flamingos feed by putting their large beak upside down in the water and use their tongue and beak to suck in and filter food from the mud and water.

Habitat/Range: - Brackish coastal or inland lakes, saline lagoons, and mudflats in the Galapagos Islands, coastal Columbia, Venezuela, and Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Also northern Caribbean in Cuba, Hispaniola and the Bahamas.

American Flamingo Map
Breeding Habitat/Resident,    Migration or Winter Area.



Breeding Season: - May to August.

Eggs: - 1 (chalky-white colour).

Notes: - The large American Flamingo, also called the Caribbean Flamingo, is closely related to the Greater and Chilean Flamingo. The Flamingos characteristic pink colouring is caused by the beta carotene in their diet.

Conservation status (IUCN 3.1):
  Least Concern.  

Classification: - Family: Phoenicopteridae,
Genus: Phoenicopterus.

American Flamingo video:


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Photographs

American Flamingo
American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus Ruber)






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