• Source: Greater flamingo

The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Himalayas), the Middle East, the Levant, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe.




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.




Description


The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, 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).
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".

























Distribution


It is found in parts of Northern Africa (including coastal areas of northern Algeria, Egypt further inland along the Nile River, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia), portions of Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda), Southern Asia (coastal Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka), the Middle East (Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) and Southern Europe (including Albania, Bulgaria, Corsica, Croatia, France in the Camargue, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Spain and the Balearic Islands, and Turkey. 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.
In Gujarat, a coastal state in the west 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.




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, brine shrimp, other crustaceans, seeds (such as rice), blue-green algae, microscopic organisms (such as diatoms), insect larvae (such as chironomids), and mollusks. The greater flamingo feeds with its head down, its upper jaw movable and not rigidly fixed to its skull.
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. In the wild, the average lifespan is 30 – 40 years.




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).




= 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. 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.





























See also


Tallest extant birds




References






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
• Source: Greater (flamingo)

Greater, also known as Flamingo One and Flamingo 1 (died January 30, 2014), was the world's oldest greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), residing at the Adelaide Zoo in Adelaide, Australia. It was at least 83 years old, having arrived at the zoo from either Cairo or Hamburg (records are unclear) in either 1933, 1930, 1925, or 1919 (the dates of the last four importations of greater flamingos to the Adelaide Zoo) at which point it was already a full-grown adult. Greater's sex was never determined.
On October 29, 2008, Greater was attacked and beaten by four teenagers. The almost blind bird was badly injured, but soon recovered. Its assailants were arrested, and initially charged with ill-treatment of an animal; however, all charges were later dropped and nobody was prosecuted.
In April 2013, zoo personnel noticed that Greater was beginning to show signs of arthritis, which they attempted to treat with medication. However, in late January 2014, Greater's health deteriorated even further, and the decision was made to euthanize Greater. At the time of its death, Greater was the only greater flamingo in captivity in Australia; there is a moratorium on the importation of flamingos into Australia.
Greater's remains were subsequently donated to the South Australian Museum to be taxidermied; however, due to the technical challenges of preserving the physical traits of such an old flamingo, and a shortage of sufficiently flamingo-like birds on which to practice new techniques, this was not accomplished for several years. Greater finally went on display at the Museum in 2021, alongside the remains of "Chile", the oldest Chilean flamingo on record, who had lived alongside Greater at the Adelaide Zoo for over thirty years.




See also


List of individual birds




References

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