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Bird. The greater flamingo is the tallest flamingo. Flamingos can live in hostile environments like hot volcanic lakes - their name comes from the Latin word for flame. Their feathers range in color from hot red to pale pink. The color comes from a diet rich in carotenoids, found in crustaceans such as shrimp. Without a source of carotenoids, their feathers turn white. Flamingos are filter feeders. Holding their beaks upside down in the water, they feed by sucking in water and straining it through a filter structure of horny plates that line their beaks. |
| Scientific
Name |
Lifespan |
| Phoenicopterus ruber |
20 years; 44 in captivity |
| Diet |
| Omnivore. Seeds, blue-green algae, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects. |
| Predators and Threats |
| Vultures, storks, eagles, black kites, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and humans, among others. |
| Habitat |
| Lagoons and salt lakes, mangrove swamps, tidal flats, and sandy islands in the inter tidal zone; Tropical and Subtropical regions: parts of South America; Africa, India, Europe, and Asia. |
