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African river
Lesser flamingo
Phoeniconaias minor
A tall pink bird with a long neck, long legs and a bent beak, gathering in flocks of many thousands.
- Size
- About 85cm tall
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Salty and soda lakes, especially in the Rift Valley of East Africa
My spotter's list
Wades after you on long legs, and flies when you get far ahead. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the flamingo
ColourPink from its food
Flamingos are pink because of the tiny algae they eat. Without that food, their feathers would fade to white.
BeakUpside-down eating
A flamingo feeds with its head upside down, using its beak as a sieve to strain food from the water.
FlocksA million together
On some African lakes, more than a million lesser flamingos gather at once, turning the shore pink.
LakesWater that burns
They feed in soda lakes so caustic that few other animals can stand in them. Tough skin on their legs protects them.
ChicksGrey babies
Chicks hatch grey and fluffy with a straight beak, and gather in huge nurseries looked after by a few adults.
LegStanding on one leg
Standing on one leg takes almost no effort for a flamingo, and helps it to keep warm.
The real thing
Photos of the flamingo
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Look for a pink haze along the edge of a salty lake. Close up, watch them feed with their heads upside down in the shallows.
Lend a handHow to help
They breed at only a handful of lakes, so protecting those few places from pollution and development protects the whole species.
Following youLadybird
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