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Flamingos or flamingoes [a] (/ f l ə ˈ m ɪ ŋ ɡ oʊ z /) are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean), and two species native to Afro-Eurasia .
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). [6] 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.
They may reach sexual maturity between 3 and 6 years of age, though usually they do not reproduce until they are 6 years old. Their life expectancy of 40 years is one of the longest in birds. Adult American flamingos are smaller on average than greater flamingos, but are the largest flamingos in the Americas. They measure from 120 to 145 cm (47 ...
Chilean flamingoes weigh between 5.5 and 7.75 pounds and can grow to nearly 5 feet tall. Their plumage is pink and white, and their distinctive bent bill is black and white.
The squishy mud that gives wading birds the otherworldly appearance of walking on water in the shallows of Florida Bay also gives the flamingos a measure of protection from human contact.
Illustration by J. G. Keulemans (1886) The James's flamingo is smaller than the Andean flamingo, and is about the same size as the Old World species, the lesser flamingo.A specimen of the bird was first collected by Charles Rahmer, who was on a collecting expedition sponsored by Harry Berkeley James, (1846–1892, a manager of a Chilean saltpetre mine born in Walsall, England) after whom the ...
A fox breached an outdoor bird habitat Monday at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and killed 25 American flamingos, officials said.
Biologists and conservationists have raised concerns about the negative impacts of lithium brine extraction on areas where these birds reproduce and feed. This species, part of the flamingo family alongside the Andean and James's flamingos, has been classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.