In the Pink: The Life of a Wild Caribbean Flamingo

Caribbean flamingos are famous for their bright pink plumage (though they can also appear more orange or red). They are tall, slender birds that have long skinny legs that are dark pink at the knees. They have a black, curved, pointed beak and webbed feet. They grow to an average of 47 to 57 inches in height and exhibit sexual dimorphism with males being about 20 percent larger than females. Males typically weigh over six pounds and females weigh slightly over four and a half pounds.

There are four distinct populations of Caribbean flamingos. They can be found in northern and southern parts of the Caribbean, the Galapagos Islands, and the Yucatan Peninsula, in muddy flats, lakes, lagoons, and other areas of shallow water. Flamingos tend to prefer saltwater and are able to adapt their habitat to areas with better breeding grounds and better food availability.

Caribbean flamingos spend most of their days preening, eating, wading, and resting. They are extremely gregarious birds, living in flocks of up to thousands of birds. Caribbean flamingos make similar vocalizations to geese, loudly honking and screeching. They put on several synchronized collective displays, like wing salutes, head flagging, head shaking, and marching. These displays are often performed during the breeding season. Caribbean flamingos have four main breeding sites, which are located in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles.

Flamingos first breed at three to six years of age and the breeding season is different for each flock. Flamingos form long-lasting relationships and pairs will breed for many seasons. Flamingos make nests out of mud that they form into truncated cones. Incubation lasts about 28 days, with both male and female taking watch over the single egg that is laid. Upon birth, flamingo parents feed their chick a liquid secreted from their digestive tract that is similar to a mammal’s milk. This is often called “crop milk.”

Flamingos are wading birds who sift through water for mollusks, crustaceans, algae, worms, and plants. They have bristles on their beak that strains the water from their food, similar to that of a baleen whale. Also, their tongue pumps water in and out of their mouth. Flamingos may skim the water for food with their beak, or use their beak to stab prey (like a heron), or dabble along the floor of a lagoon (like a duck).

There are several threats to the Caribbean flamingo population: the feather trade, lead poisoning from bullets containing lead, habitat loss and destruction, domestication (some zoos have captured wild flamingos), and disturbance to colonies from gawking tourists and photographers.

Scientific Name: Phoenicopterus ruber ruber

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Ciconiiformes

Family: Phoenicopteridae