Andean flamingo
Andean flamingo | |
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At WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Phoenicopteriformes |
Family: | Phoenicopteridae |
Genus: | Phoenicoparrus |
Species: | P. andinus
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Binomial name | |
Phoenicoparrus andinus (Philippi, 1854)
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Synonyms | |
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The Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) is a species of
Description
It is distinguished from other flamingos by its deeper lower mandible and the very long filtering filaments on the maxilla. It is the largest flamingo in the Andes and is one of the two heaviest living flamingos alongside the taller greater flamingo.[5] Reportedly body mass of the Andean flamingo has ranged from 1.5 to 4.9 kg (3.3 to 10.8 lb), height from 1 to 1.4 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 7 in) and wingspan from 1.4 to 1.6 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 3 in).[5][6]
The flamingo has a pale pink body with brighter upperparts, deep vinaceous-pink lower neck, breast, and wing coverts. It is the only flamingo species with yellow legs and three-toed feet.[7] Its bill is pale yellow near the skull, but black for the majority of its length, and curves downward. Its lower mandible is less apparent than those of the genus Phoenicopterus.
Plumages
Juveniles present a uniformly pale gray plumage. It is often duskier on the head and neck. Coverts and scapulars can have darker brown centers. Meanwhile, adults are overall pale pink, with the feathers on the lower neck and chest being much brighter pink; coverts may be similarly bright pink. Head and upper neck may be a brighter pink than the rest of the body, which can appear almost white with only a pale pink wash, but head and pp upper neck never as bright as the lower neck and breast. Primaries and secondaries black, which when wings are folded, appear as bold black triangle that is not obscured by other feathers.
Fossil history
Fossils attributed to Andean Flamingo have been found at the Salar de Atacama border and roughly date to the Early Formative period, approximately 3,000 to 2,200 BP. These fossils date to a period consistent with the onset of modern climate conditions that the species now inhabits.[8]
Behavior
Feeding
These flamingos are filter feeders and their diet ranges over the entire spectrum of available foods, from fish to invertebrates, from vascular plants to microscopic algae.[9]
The flamingos feed from the bottom layer of the lake for small particles, mainly
When grouping the Andean flamingos with Chilean flamingos or James's flamingos, Andean flamingos adopt the foraging patterns of the species with which it is grouped.[12] Thus, when grouped with Chilean flamingos, they use a moderate and deep foraging depth strategy more than or the same as expected. If they are grouped with James's flamingos, they adopt the edge and the shallow foraging strategy.[12] However, the overall foraging behavior of Andean flamingos remains unclear.[10]
Vocalization
Very poorly known; the available recordings fall into three distinct call types, but specific information on function lacking. Peep a surprisingly high-pitched (c 2 kHz), short (c 0.1–0.2 s), clear note that sounds rather Passerine-like. Most often given in a quick series that slightly descends, but sometimes also singly. Quack a brief, rough nasal quack or honk-like note that can be given individually or in series. Lower-pitched and shorter in duration than the analogous call in Chilean Flamingo, but slightly higher-pitched than in James's Flamingo. Often heard in flight. Chuckle a quiet, conversational call made up of short, low-pitched quack-like notes. Lower-pitched and less nasal than the Quack call, and typically given in a faster series.
Distribution, habitat, and movements
This Andean flamingo is native to the wetlands of the high Andes mountain range from southern Peru to northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. Andean flamingos are migratory, with the ability to travel up to 700 miles in one day. In the summer, they live in salt lakes, and migrate to the lower wetlands for the winter.[13] The cause of this migration from summer to winter is possibly due to the extreme aridity of salt flats during the winter.[14] The path of migration is unknown, but it is thought to occur between the Chilean breeding grounds and the wetlands of central and western Argentina.[14]
Breeding is concentrated in northern Chile, extreme southwestern Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina. During the nonbreeding season, some birds remain around the same wetlands where they bred, but others move to lower elevation wetlands and lakes, including east to the central plains of Argentina, and also north through the Andes to southern Peru.
Vagrant as far north as Conococha in central Peru, to the coast of Peru and northern Chile, to Amazonian Brazil, to southern Argentina, and to coastal southern Brazil.
Status and conservation
The Andean flamingo is considered a vulnerable species due to the mining business and human disturbances causing changes in its habitat.[15]
Mining
The Andean flamingo's habitat is constantly changing due to human activity. The primary threat to the flamingo population is mining
A study on
The extraction process also affects the water availability.[16] Andean flamingos filter surface water for food, but borax mining pollutes this water.[10] Along with the pollution, the extractions expedite the removal of lake moisture.[16] By limiting the amount of water in the lake, mining companies can increase visibility, thus contributing to more optimal mining.[16] A study comparing the correlation between water availability and flamingo population determined that the number of flamingos was strongly correlated to the proportion of water in the lake.[10] With an insufficient food supply and a disturbed habitat, the decrease in offspring seems inevitable.
In Argentina, the rarest species of flamingo is primarily found in northern provinces (Salta, Catamarca, and Jujuy) during warmer months, as well as in low-lying areas of the central region, mainly Córdoba and Santa Fe. The National Mining Secretariat reports 38 lithium projects across the country, with 17 situated in the vast salt flats of Salta province.[18]
Biologists and conservationists have raised concerns about the negative impacts of lithium brine extraction on areas where these birds reproduce and feed. This species, part of the flamingo family alongside the Andean and James's flamingos, has been classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[18]
Human disturbance
Not only are the flamingos' offspring numbers diminished by mining activities, but they are also affected by the
Alongside mining activities, unregulated tourism has taken its toll on the flamingos' habitat. Over time, numerous
The demand for surface and underground water, energy production, and transportation, as well as unregulated tourism, have all increased in the last two decades. These increases were documented to be most significant in Chile, the main location for Andean flamingo breeding colonies.[13] As a consequence, these areas are concentrated with toxic compounds due to mineral and hydrocarbon exploration.[13] Since the 1980s, the number of successful breeding colonies and the total production of chicks of Andean flamingos declined.[13] As a result, the Andean flamingo is a threatened species.
Conservation plans
According to the
The Flamingo Specialist Group, established in 1971, is actively trying to inform the public on the vulnerability of flamingos.[10] They produce an annual newsletter to tell readers the current status of several species.[10] In 2000, this group conducted a census that revealed a total population less than 34,000 Andean flamingos, giving them the label of most rare species.[10] Recently, this group has joined sides with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to create an action plan for the flamingos.[10] A meeting was held in Miami, Florida, in 2000 to develop a group to control an action place to protect the six species and subspecies of flamingos.[10]
Under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the
Gallery
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Group of Andean flamingos in the Salar de Pedernales in the Atacama Region of Chile
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Andean flamingo at Slimbridge WWT, England
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Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, Chile
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ [1]|Torres et al., A multi-locus inference of the evolutionary diversification of extant flamingos (Phoenicopteridae),BMC Evolutionary Biology 2014, 14:36.
- ^ Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". The Condor. 104(1), 73.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4200-6444-5.
- ^ del Hoyo, J. (1992). Phoenicopteriformes. Pp. 508-526 in J del Hoyo, A Elliott, J Sargatal, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
- ^ Bornschein, M. R. and B. L. Reinert (1996). "The Andean Flamingo in Brazil." Wilson Bulletin 108(4): 807-808.
- OCLC 785858835.
- ^ Hurlbert, S. H. and C. C. Y. Chang (1983). "ORNITHOLIMNOLOGY - Effects of Grazing by the Andean Flamingo." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America-Biological Sciences 80(15): 4766-4769.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hurlbert, S. H. 1982. "Limnological studies of flamingo diets and distribution." National Geographic Society Research Reports 14:351–356.
- ^ Mascitti, V. and F. O. Kravetz (2002). "Bill morphology of South American flamingos." Condor 104(1):73-83.
- ^ a b c Mascitti, V. and M. B. Castañera (2006). "Foraging Depth of flamingos in Single-Species and Mixed Species Flocks at Laguna de Pozuelos, Argentina." Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 29(3): 328-334.
- ^ a b c d e Caziani, S. M., O. R. Olivio, et al. (2007). "Seasonal distribution, abundance, and nesting of Puna, Andean, and Chilean flamingos." Condor109(2): 276-287.
- ^ a b c d e Bucher, E. 1992. "Population and Conservation Status of flamingos in Mar Chiquita, Cordoba, Argentina." Colonial Waterbirds 15(2):179-184.
- ^ Norambuena, M. C. and M. Parada (2005). "Serum biochemistry in Andean Flamingos (Phoenicoparrus andinus): Natural versus artificial diet." Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 36(3): 434-439.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Ugarte-Nunez, J and Mosaurieta, L. 2000. "Assessment of threats to flamingos at the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Nature Reserve (Arequipa, Peru)" Waterbirds 23(Special Issue 1):134-140.
- ^ a b c d Korkmazm Mehmet. 2007. "Estimation of Human Daily Boron Exposure in a Boron-Rich Environment." British Journal of Nutrition. 98(3):571-575.
- ^ a b Jemio, Diego (2024-01-27). "El avance de la minería de litio amenaza al flamenco andino en Argentina". El País América (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-02-12.