LESSER FLAMINGO

Phoeniconaias minor

  • Common name:
    LESSER FLAMINGO

    Scientific name:
    Phoeniconaias minor

    Class:
    Birds

    Order:
    Fenicotteriformi

    Family:
    Fenicotteridi

    Provenance:
    Eastern and Southern Africa

    Diet:
    mollusks – water insects – small crustaceans

    Habitat:
    Low water areas

    Reproduction:
    Spawn: 1 – Incubation: 27-31 days

  • The Lesser Flamingo is the smaller and more numerous of the flamingos.
    It lives in large flocks near water. It has a weight of around 2 kg and a height of approximately 1m.
    It diets on blue-green algae, crustaceans and mollusks. The color of its plumage varies from white to a variably intense pink depending on the amount of the crustacean Artemia salina and the blue-green algae that the birds eat. Both of these contain carotenoids, pigments that give color to the feathers of this species.
    This bird feeds in an unusual manner; it slowly moves in the shallow water continuously moving its beak with the head immersed under water. The beak has a sort of filter that traps the food and lets the water escape.
    The Flamingos nest close to big saltwater lakes. They build a cone shaped nest of compact mud around 30cm tall with a concave top in which a single egg is laid. The chicks are born with a white plumage.