Flamingo

Flamingos are a type of wading bird. They belong to the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only living family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species in the Americas, including the Caribbean, and two species that live in Afro-Eurasia.

Etymology

The name flamingo comes from the Portuguese or Spanish word flamengo, which means "flame-coloured." That word comes from the Provençal word flamenc, which combines flama ("flame") with an ending like the Germanic -ing. The name may also have been influenced by the Spanish word flamenco, meaning "Fleming" or "Flemish."

The genus name Phoenicopterus comes from the Ancient Greek word φοινικόπτερος (phoinikopteros), meaning "crimson" or "red-feathered." Other genus names are also based on colour. Phoeniconaias means "crimson or red water nymph." Phoenicoparrus means "crimson or red bird," though it refers to an unknown bird of omen. A group of flamingos is called a "flamboyance" or a "stand."

Taxonomy and systematics

The flamingo family, Phoenicopteridae, was named in 1831 by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Its main type genus is Phoenicopterus, which is the type genus. For a long time, scientists thought the long-legged Ciconiiformes were the flamingos' closest relatives. The ibises and spoonbills of the Threskiornithidae were often seen as their nearest kin. Genetic studies by Charles Sibley and colleagues also supported this idea. Some scientists linked flamingos to waterfowl because flamingos are parasitized by feather lice of the genus Anaticola. These lice are otherwise found only on ducks and geese. A 2002 paper concluded that flamingos are waterfowl. However, a 2014 study of bird orders found that flamingos and grebes belong to Columbea, along with doves, sandgrouse, and mesites.

Recent gene studies have suggested a relationship with grebes, and body features also support this. Flamingos and grebes share at least 11 body features that other birds do not have. The fossil palaelodids are considered to be between flamingos and grebes in both their evolution and their way of life. Scientists have proposed the name Mirandornithes, meaning "miraculous birds," for the group made of grebes and flamingos. A cladogram based on a 2022 study by Roberto Frias-Soler and colleagues shows how the six living flamingo species are related. Another study in 2026 confirmed this. Scientists now accept these six species, which were once all placed in one genus, Phoenicopterus. A 2014 study split the family into two genera. In 2020, HBW recognised three. A 2026 study suggested going back to two genera, because Phoeniconaias and Phoenicoparrus are closely related. Many extinct flamingo relatives are known from fossils. These include Elornis, Harrisonavis, Leakeyornis, Phoeniconaias proeses, Phoeniconaias siamensis, Phoeniconotius, Phoenicopterus copei, Phoenicopterus floridanus, Phoenicopterus minutus, Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae, Phoenicopterus stocki, and Xenorhynchopsis. Some lived as far back as the Miocene period.

Description

The greater and American flamingos are the largest of the six flamingo species. Both stand 120–145 centimetres (47–57 in) tall and weigh 2.1–4.1 kilograms (4.6–9.0 lb). The lesser flamingo is the smallest, at 80–90 centimetres (31–35 in) tall and 1.5–2 kilograms (3.3–4.4 lb). James's flamingo is only a little larger than the lesser flamingo.

Flamingos often stand on one leg with the other tucked under their body. Scientists do not fully understand why. One idea is that it helps them stay warm. Another is that it saves energy needed for balance. Their legs may look like they bend backwards, but the joint that looks like a knee is really an ankle.

Flamingos are strong flyers. Pet and zoo birds often need to have their wing clipping so they cannot fly away. In 2005, two African flamingos that had not had their wings clipped flew away from a zoo in Wichita, Kansas.

Young flamingos hatch with greyish-red feathers. Adults range from light pink to bright red. Their colour comes from bacteria in the water and beta-carotene in their food. Healthy, well-fed flamingos are more brightly coloured, which makes them more attractive to mates. Pale birds are usually unhealthy.

Captive flamingos are an exception. They may turn pale pink even when they are well fed, if they do not get enough carotene. Flamingos can open their bills by raising the upper jaw as well as by dropping the lower one.

Behaviour and ecology

Flamingos eat both plants and animals. They filter-feed on brine shrimp, cyanobacteria, larvae, insects, mollusks and crustaceans. They hold their bills upside-down to separate mud and silt from their food. Hairy lamellae along the mandible help them filter it. Their stomping stirs up eddies that trap tiny animals. Their pink or reddish colour comes from carotenoids in the plankton they eat. American flamingos are a brighter red, while lesser flamingos are a paler pink. Flamingos are also very noisy. Their calls can sound like grunts or honks. They have glands under their eyes that remove salt, so they can drink saltwater.

Flamingos are very social and live in colonies that can have thousands of birds. Before breeding, these colonies split into smaller groups. The groups perform synchronized displays to help pairs form. Flamingos form strong pair bonds. Both parents build the nest, protect the egg, and feed the chicks with crop milk. This milk is made with the help of the hormone prolactin. Chicks leave their nests at about 7 to 12 days old. They gather in groups that can grow into crèches of thousands. Their flight feathers finish growing at about three to three and a half months old. (Pigeons and doves also produce crop milk.)

Status and conservation

See also: List of Phoenicopteriformes by population

In 1958, the first flamingo hatched in a European zoo. It was a Chilean flamingo at Zoo Basel in Switzerland. Since then, hundreds of flamingos have grown up in Basel and moved to other zoos around the world.

Greater, a greater flamingo who was at least 83 years old, is believed to have been the oldest in the world. Greater died at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia in January 2014. Some zoos have used mirrors to help flamingos breed. The mirrors may make the flamingos feel that they are part of a bigger flock.

Relationship with humans

Long ago, flamingos were some of the most prized birds in Ancient Roman food. Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History that Apicius, a famous food lover, said flamingo tongue tasted very fine. Apicius's cookbook has a few flamingo recipes, but none of them mention tongues. Suetonius wrote about flamingo tongues in his Life of Vitellius. He described a huge platter called the "Shield of Minerva, Defender of the City" that held them. The poet Martial joked that his red wing gave him his name, but food lovers enjoyed his tongue. A later source says that Elagabalus served flamingo brains.

In the Americas, the Moche people of ancient Peru often showed flamingos in their art. The Ancient Egyptian god Set is shown with a flamingo head in the Book of the Faiyum. Flamingos are the national bird of the Bahamas. Long ago, Andean miners hunted flamingos for their fat. They believed it could cure tuberculosis. In the United States, pink plastic flamingos are often placed in yards as lawn ornaments. Don Featherstone first designed them in 1957. They became popular partly because of flamingo souvenirs in Florida and the Flamingo hotel in Miami Beach, which linked flamingos with style and wealth. In 2026, the flamingo became a symbol of the anti-government protests in Albania known as the Flamingo Revolution.