Facts About the Greater Flamingo

The greater flamingo is one of six species of flamingo and the type with the largest geographical distribution. According to the San Diego Zoo website, the greater flamingo possesses the most vivid colors of the flamingos, a coloring the bird gets from its diet. The greater flamingo is a social bird, existing in colonies that can sometimes number in the thousands.

  1. Identification

    • The average height of the greater flamingo is about 42 inches, states the Nature Works website, although some may be as tall as 48 inches. The wingspan can reach approximately 5 feet, and the bird may weigh around 5 lbs. The greater flamingo is pink, with black edges on the wing tips. The long legs, designed for wading in the shallow water of mudflats and lagoons, are pink, as are the three-toed feet. Flamingos feature a long neck and an odd-shaped bill that has a hook on the end and curves downwards. The only way to tell a male apart from a female greater flamingo by sight is that the male will be just a little larger.

    Geography

    • According to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds," the greater flamingo is what ornithologists describe as a casual visitor in the United States. This means that a few may show up from Texas along the Gulf Coast to Florida and then north through the Carolinas, but the bird is not a permanent resident and will not breed in those states. The main range of the greater flamingo is the Yucatán Peninsula region of Mexico, northern parts of South America, the West Indies islands and the Bahamas.

    Diet

    • As a flamingo walks along in the water it will kick up the mud and then strain the water through its bill. The bird's diet consists of organisms such as insects, seeds, algae, mollusks and shrimp. The flamingo's liver has the ability to break down the pigments from the algae and other creatures the flamingo consumes. The pigments make their way to the bird's skin and feathers and give the flamingo its pinkish color.

    Function

    • The bill of a flamingo allows it to take in water and filter out anything edible. The flamingo will suck in some water through the front portion of the bill and then expel the water out the sides. Two separate rows of bristles known as lamellae exist on the inside of the bill. These bristles, as well as some on the bird's tongue, will prevent organisms as small as shrimp from escaping as the flamingo rids its bill of the water.

    In Flight

    • While ungainly on the ground, the flamingo is an accomplished flier once it gets airborne. The bird needs to run into the wind for a short distance before getting up into the air. Flamingos fly with their necks stretched out and the legs stretched behind them. The flamingo keeps flapping its wings as it flies and usually will fly in flocks of many birds.