Greater flamingo

The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, on the Indian subcontinent, in the Middle East, and in southern Europe.

Not to be confused with Greater (flamingo).

Greater flamingo
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Phoenicopteriformes
Family: Phoenicopteridae
Genus: Phoenicopterus
Species:
P. roseus
Binomial name
Phoenicopterus roseus
Pallas, 1811
Synonyms
  • Phoenicopterus ruber roseus
  • Phoenicopterus antiquorum[2]

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.[3]

Description

The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo,[4] 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 at up to 187 cm (74 in) tall and 4.5 kg (9.9 lb).[5]

Chick with gray down

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".[6]

Greater flamingo feeding at Walvis Bay (Namibia)

Distribution
Greater flamingos at Kutch

It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia (Bangladesh and coastal regions of Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka), the Middle East (Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates) and southern Europe (including Albania, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Spain, and South of France). The most northern breeding spot is the Zwillbrocker Venn in western Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands. They have been recorded breeding in the United Arab Emirates at three different locations in the Abu Dhabi Emirate.[7] In Gujarat, a state of India, flamingos can be observed at the Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Flamingo City, and in the Thol Bird Sanctuary. They remain there during the entire winter season.[8]

Ecology

The greater flamingo resides in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water. Using its feet, the bird stirs up the mud, then sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms, and mollusks. The greater flamingo feeds with its head down, and its upper jaw is movable and not rigidly fixed to its skull.[9]

Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound.

Lifespan

The typical lifespan in captivity, according to Basel Zoo, is over 60 years.[10] In the wild, the average lifespan is 30 – 40 years.[11]

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).[12]

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.[13] The oldest known greater flamingo was a bird at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia that died aged at least 83 years. The bird's exact age is not known; he was already a mature adult when he arrived in Adelaide in 1933. He was euthanized in January 2014 due to complications of old age.[14][15]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Phoenicopterus roseus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697360A131878173.en.
  2. de Klemm, Cyrille; Lausche, Barbara J. (1987). African Wildlife Laws. IUCN. p. 1147. ISBN 2880320917. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  3. del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N.; Garcia, E. F. J. "Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  4. Feduccia, Alan (1999). The Origin and Evolution of Birds (illustrated, reprint ed.). Yale University Press. p. 196. ISBN 0300078617. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  5. "Greater flamingo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  6. Amat, J.A.; Rendón, M.A.; Garrido-Fernández, J.; Garrido, A.; Rendón-Martos, M. & Pérez-Gálvez, A. (2011). "Greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus use uropygial secretions as make-up". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 65 (4): 665–673. doi:10.1007/s00265-010-1068-z.
  7. Khan, Shahid; et al. (2017). "Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus): Important wintering sites and breeding records in the United Arab Emirates". Zoology in the Middle East. 63 (3): 194–201. doi:10.1080/09397140.2017.1331586.
  8. Koshti A.J. and Bony L.S (2016). "Ethology of greater flamingo in captivity", Undergraduate thesis submitted to St.Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, India.
  9. "Flamingo Feeding". Stanford University. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  10. "Animals-Vögel-Flamingo". Basel Zoo. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  11. https://animalcorner.org/animals/greater-flamingo/
  12. "Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)". Marwell Zoo. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  13. "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.
  14. Kelton, Sam (31 January 2014). "Greater, the 83-year-old Adelaide Zoo flamingo, dies". The Advertiser. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  15. Fedorowytsch, Tom (31 January 2014). "Flamingo believed to be world's oldest dies at Adelaide Zoo aged 83". ABC News. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
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