Greater flamingo
Greater flamingo | |
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in the Camargue | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Phoenicopteriformes |
Family: | Phoenicopteridae |
Genus: | Phoenicopterus |
Species: | P. roseus
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Binomial name | |
Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas, 1811
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Synonyms | |
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The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest
Taxonomy
The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), but because of coloring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, the two flamingos are now most commonly considered separate species. The greater flamingo has no subspecies and is therefore monotypic.[4]
Description
The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo,[5] averaging 110–150 cm (43–59 in) tall and weighing 2–4 kg (4.4–8.8 lb). The largest male flamingos have been recorded to be up to 187 cm (74 in) tall and to weigh 4.5 kg (9.9 lb).[6]
Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking.
Chicks are covered in gray fluffy down. Subadult flamingos are paler with dark legs. Adults feeding chicks also become paler, but retain the bright pink legs. The coloration comes from the carotenoid pigments in the organisms that live in their feeding grounds. Secretions of the uropygial gland also contain carotenoids. During the breeding season, greater flamingos increase the frequency of their spreading uropygial secretions over their feathers and thereby enhance their color. This cosmetic use of uropygial secretions has been described as applying "make-up".[7]
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Egg atCincinnati Zoo
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Chick with gray down
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Juvenile at Ghadira Nature Reserve, Malta
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Subadults at Pulicat Lake, India
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Adults at theAlbufera de Valencia Lagoon, Spain
Distribution
It is found in parts of Northern Africa (including coastal areas of northern
Ecology
The greater flamingo resides in
Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound.
Lifespan
The typical lifespan in captivity, according to
Threats and predators
Natural
Adult greater flamingos have few natural predators. Eggs and chicks may be eaten by raptors, crows, gulls, and the marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer); an estimated half of the predation of greater flamingo eggs and chicks is from the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis).[14][15]
Human
The primary threats to flamingo populations are bacteria, toxins, and pollution in water supplies, which is usually run-off from manufacturing companies, and encroachment on their habitat.
In human captivity
The first recorded zoo hatch was in 1959 at Zoo Basel. In Zoo Basel's breeding program, over 400 birds have been hatched with between 20 and 27 per year since 2000.[16] The oldest known greater flamingo was a bird at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia that died at the age of at least 83 years. The bird's exact age is not known; it was already a mature adult when it arrived in Adelaide in 1933. It was euthanized in January 2014 due to complications of old age.[17][18]
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A subadult (top) with an adult (bottom) in flight
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In flight at Jamnagar, India
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Colony in the Po River delta, Italy
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Resting heads, Bahrain
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The skeleton of a greater flamingo
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A subadult feeding in Walvis Bay, Namibia
References
- . Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ISBN 2880320917. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- S2CID 241655366. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ISBN 0300078617. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ "Greater flamingo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- S2CID 30299643.
- ^ "Phoenicopterus roseus". Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
- S2CID 90286615.
- ^ Koshti A.J. and Bony L.S (2016). "Ethology of greater flamingo in captivity", Undergraduate thesis submitted to St.Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, India.
- ^ "Flamingo Feeding". Stanford University. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- Basel Zoo. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ "Greater Flamingo - Facts, Diet & Habitat Information".
- ^ "Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)". Marwell Zoo. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Matthew, Charles. "Flamingos". Birds life. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Zolli feiert 50 Jahre Flamingozucht und Flamingosforschung" [50 years of flamingo breeding]. Basler Zeitung (in German). 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009.
- ^ Kelton, Sam (31 January 2014). "Greater, the 83-year-old Adelaide Zoo flamingo, dies". The Advertiser. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ Fedorowytsch, Tom (31 January 2014). "Flamingo believed to be world's oldest dies at Adelaide Zoo aged 83". ABC News. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
External links
- Performing greater flamingos in open field Archived 2018-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Greater flamingo - Species text - The Atlas of Southern African Birds
- Article with video about Greater Flamingo at avibirds.com