^ Fedorowytsch, Tom (31 January 2014).

'Greater, the 83-year-old Adelaide Zoo flamingo, dies'. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009.

^ 'Zolli feiert 50 Jahre Flamingozucht und Flamingosforschung'.

^ 'Greater flamingo ( Phoenicopterus roseus)'.

^ 'Greater Flamingo - Facts, Diet & Habitat Information'.

'Ethology of greater flamingo in captivity', Undergraduate thesis submitted to St.Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, India. 'Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus): Important wintering sites and breeding records in the United Arab Emirates'. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 'Greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus use uropygial secretions as make-up'. The Origin and Evolution of Birds (illustrated, reprint ed.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. 'Greater Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus roseus)'. Del Hoyo, Josep Elliott, Andrew Sargatal, Jordi Christie, David De Juana, Eduardo (eds.).

^ de Klemm, Cyrille Lausche, Barbara J.

He was euthanized in January 2014 due to complications of old age. The bird's exact age is not known he was already a mature adult when he arrived in Adelaide in 1933. The oldest known greater flamingo was a bird at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia that died aged at least 83 years. In Zoo Basel's breeding program, over 400 birds have been hatched with between 20 and 27 per year since 2000. The first recorded zoo hatch was in 1959 at Zoo Basel. The primary threats to flamingo populations are bacteria, toxins, and pollution in water supplies, which is usually run-off from manufacturing companies, and encroachment on their habitat. Eggs and chicks may be eaten by raptors, crows, gulls, and the marabou stork ( Leptoptilos crumenifer) an estimated half of the predation of greater flamingo eggs and chicks is from the yellow-legged gull ( Larus michahellis). Threats and predators Natural Īdult greater flamingos have few natural predators. In the wild, the average lifespan is 30 – 40 years. The typical lifespan in captivity, according to Basel Zoo, is over 60 years. Like all flamingos, this type of species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound. The greater flamingo feeds with its head down, and its upper jaw is movable and not rigidly fixed to its skull.

Using its feet, the bird stirs up the mud, then sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms, and mollusks. The greater flamingo resides in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water.

They remain there during the entire winter season. In Gujarat, a state of India, flamingos can be observed at the Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Flamingo City, and in the Thol Bird Sanctuary. They have been recorded breeding in the United Arab Emirates at three different locations in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. The most northern breeding spot is the Zwillbrocker Venn in western Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia ( Bangladesh and coastal regions of Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka), the Middle East ( Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) and southern Europe (including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and South of France). Īdults at the Albufera de Valencia lagoon, Spain This cosmetic use of uropygial secretions has been described as applying 'make-up'. During the breeding season, greater flamingos increase the frequency of their spreading uropygial secretions over their feathers and thereby enhance their color. Secretions of the uropygial gland also contain carotenoids. The coloration comes from the carotenoid pigments in the organisms that live in their feeding grounds. Adults feeding chicks also become paler, but retain the bright pink legs. Subadult flamingos are paler with dark legs. The call is a goose-like honking.Ĭhicks are covered in gray fluffy down. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The largest male flamingos have been recorded at up to 187 cm (74 in) tall and 4.5 kg (9.9 lb). The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, averaging 110–150 cm (43–59 in) tall and weighing 2–4 kg (4.4–8.8 lb). It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo ( Phoenicopterus ruber), but because of coloring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, the two flamingos are now most commonly considered separate species. The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811.

White flamingo