Flamingo Habitat

Flamingos live in a variety of habitats including lagoons and large coastal or inland lakes. These water habitats are often very salty and so are good places for flamingos to find algae, crustaceans and other small invertebrates on which they subsist. The pink coloring of a flamingo is due to its diet, not its skin color.

Like other bird species, flamingos display for each other during courtship. The male and female both put on impressive displays of ritualized head-flagging, wing salutes, twisting, preening and marching in groups of varying sizes, up to tens of thousands of birds in the case of a breeding party. These displays are designed to stimulate hormone production and ensure that as many flamingos as possible breed.

When a flamingo nests, it builds a small mound of mud from which the eggs are laid. The nest is built to be high enough to protect the eggs from flooding and to prevent the birds from injuring themselves on any rocks or sticks that may be underneath. The nest is also placed near the water’s edge where there is a greater chance of finding food. The eggs are laid one at a time and the female will lay a new egg each day until there is a clutch of seven to twelve eggs. The chicks hatch in 10 to 12 days and are able to fly after about a month.

Each day flamingos spend 15-30% of their time cleaning their feathers, spreading oil that is produced in a special gland over them with their beaks. This helps the birds to shed parasites and other contaminants. They will also spread a sticky substance over their legs to help keep their feet from getting wet and slippery.

Unlike other birds, flamingos do not have a specific breeding season; they will breed when conditions are right for them and this may occur throughout the year in colonies. This is important because when a breeding site does not produce good results, the whole flock will move to another location and try again.

Flamingos are carnivorous and consume a wide range of animal and plant material, including crustaceans, mollusks, worms, insects, seeds, leaves, algae and sometimes mud. In areas where their habitat is impacted by human activity, such as lake pollution and sedimentation, greater flamingos tend to have less reliable food sources.

In captivity, flamingos are fed fish pellets to give them the proper balance of nutrients they need for healthy growth. They are typically housed in groups of varying sizes, up to the thousands, and interact with each other using vocalizations that sound similar to goose calls and low gabbling.

Sadly, flamingos are endangered in the wild. They face threats from human disturbance, including lowering of the water levels which affects their feeding sites, pollution and disease. They are also hunted for meat, and their eggs are collected for use in traditional medicines. In addition, a few hundred thousand birds die each year from lead poisoning after ingestion of shotgun pellets. Your adoption kit features the American flamingo, which is the only flamingo that has wild populations in North America (found in Florida). By adopting this flamingo and supporting our work, you can help us continue to conserve these beautiful, long-legged birds.