Latin Name:
Phoenicopterus ruber ruber
Status:
Least Concern
Population:
260000-330000 mature individuals
Distribution:
Caribbean, Mexico, northern coast of South America & Galapagos
Interesting Fact:
Their life expectancy of 40 years is one of the longest in birds
Caribbean Flamingo
These birds are quite unmistakable, due to their remarkably long legs and neck, and distinctive pink plumage.
Their legs let them wade in deep water, and they filter their food of algae and shrimp out of the mud. These are what give them their pink colouring.
Their necks have 17 cervical vertebrae, compared to 25 in swans, but each one is elongated giving the neck a stepped appearance.
Our flamingos build their nests in the shallow muddy area, to the right of the lower pond. If you can see just one egg then this will be a dummy made of wood to encourage them into the area.
Flamingos form strong pair bonds, and just one egg is laid with both male and female feeding the chick on a special ‘crop milk’. They are long lived birds that can reach the age of 40, and able to breed from age 6.’
Information regarding our flamingo ponds
The muddy lagoon is the flamingo nesting area. It has a base of sand and mud, and you can see that the birds build nests here. The green algae suits the flamingos, they love to sweep their beaks through the muddy puddles to filter out tasty algae. There is another flamingo pond further down in the walled garden.
NEWS STORIES
Look back at our Flamingo chick Derek from when she first hatched (yes Derek is a she!) > Here
First Flamingo chick to hatch (August 2019) – More here
First Flamingo Egg in Ten Years (June 2019) – More here
Flamingos flock to Paradise Park (May 2018) – More here
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