Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruberOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)

Codes: Common Name: GFLA Scientific Name: PHORUB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174976

Head

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Head

Bill Shape: Curved (up or down)
Eye Color: Yellow in adults; Dark grayish yellow in juveniles.
Head Pattern: Plain
Crown Color: Pink
Forehead Color: Pink
Nape Color: Pink
Throat Color: Pink
Cere color: No Data

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Body

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body

Length Range: 117 cm (46 in)
Weight: 3537 g (124.8 oz)
Size: Size 5. Very Large (32 - 72 in)
Color: Pink
Underparts: Pink
Upperparts: Pink
Back Pattern: Solid
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Flies in large groups with rapid wingbeats, head and legs fully extended.
Wingspan Range: 152 cm (60 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
Tail Pattern: Solid
Upper Tail: Pink
Under Tail: Pink
Leg Color: Pink

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo: Tall, unique wading bird, entirely pink except for black-tipped bill that is bent at a curious angle. Feeds on algal material, bacteria diatoms, plankton, small fish and brine fly larvae. Direct flight with rapid wing beats. Flies in straight line formation. AKA American Flamingo.

● Song: "huh-huh-huh"

● Foraging & Feeding: Greater Flamingo: Eats algae, aquatic invertebrates, and small fish. Wades in deep or shallow water, submersing head to suck up muddy ooze and strain food out with its odd, filter-like bill; food quality determines the intensity of its pink coloration; forages on coastal mudflats, estuaries, and lagoons, usually in large flocks.

● Breeding & nesting: Greater Flamingo: One white egg is laid on a mud cone measuring about a foot in height; nests on mudflats in huge colonies of up to 7,000 pairs. Both parents incubate egg for 28 to 32 days. After hatching, all the chicks in a colony gather in a crèche or group for safety; chicks are able to fly at about 75 days old.

● Similar species: Greater Flamingo: Roseate Spoonbill has a white neck and gray, flattened bill. Scarlet Ibis is much smaller and has a long slender curving bill. Other species of flamingos kept in captivity that occasionally escape are generally paler in color.

Flight Pattern

Flies in large groups with rapid wingbeats, head and legs fully extended.

● Range & Habitat: Greater Flamingo: Distribution centered around the Caribbean with stragglers showing up in Florida, Texas, northern South America, Yucatan, and the Galapagos Islands. North American sightings may be wild individuals or escaped captives.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^Population

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight124.8 Ounces

Long-legged-like Head

Long-legged-like Body

Long-legged-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America