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Home > Species > Greater Flamingo
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Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
| Alternative name(s): |
Rosy Flamingo. |
The Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus is the largest, palest and most widespread of all the flamingo species. It is found in parts of Africa, southwest Asia, southern Asia and southern Europe.
It shares the genus Phoenicopterus with both the Caribbean and Chilean Flamingo, but is most closely related to the Caribbean. There is still debate as to whether these two types of flamingo are truly seperate species or simply sub-species of Phoenicopterus ruber. When considered a sub-species the scientific name of the Greater Flamingo is Phoenicopterus ruber roseus.
It is distinguised from all other flamingos by its large size (averaging 110 - 150 cm) in combination with its pale plumage.
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Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species: |
Phoenicopteriformes
Phoenicopteridae
Phoenicopterus
Phoenicopterus roseus (Pallas, 1811)
Phoenicopterus ruber (Sibley and Monroe, 1990, 1993) has been split into P. roseus and P. ruber following Knox et al. (2002), contra SACC (2005).
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Source: BirdLife (Greater Flamingo Species Factsheet)
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Height: 110 - 150 cm (max. 187 cm)
Weight: 2.0 - 4.0 kg (max. 4.5 kg)
Wingspan:
Voice:
Large flamingo. Pale almost white plumage. A largely pink bill with a black tip less than half the total bill size. Pale yellow eyes and pink legs.
Similar species: Caribbean Flamingos are much brighter pink in colour. Lesser Flamingos are smaller with all dark coloured (black and red) bills.
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Source: Tour du Valat (All About the Greater Flamingo)
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| Range estimate (breeding/resident): |
100,000 - 1,000,000 km2
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From BirdLife: This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 100,000 - 1,000,000 km˛.
Sources: BirdLife (Greater Flamingo Species Factsheet) and Johnson & Cezilly (2008)
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Population estimate:
Population trend: |
Unquantified (probably 545,000 - 682,000)
Unquantified (probably stable)
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- Disturbance at breeding colonies (e.g. from tourists, low-flying aircraft and especially all-terrain vehicles) can result in low reproductive success
- Low water-levels surrounding nest-sites resulting in increased access to and therefore predation from ground predators such as foxes and feral dogs)
- Lowering of water levels in lakes can lead to hyper-salinity which may affect food resources
- Effluents from soda-ash mining
- Pollution from sewage and heavy metal effluents from industries
- Lead poisoning (lead shot ingestion)
- Collisions with fences and powerlines
- Diseases such as tuberculosis, septicemia and avian botulism
- Harvesting and egg collection may become a threat
Source: BirdLife (Greater Flamingo Species Factsheet)
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Conservation measures | ^ top |
Captive collections |
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BirdLife. 2008. Greater Flamingo Species Factsheet. From http://www.birdlife.org/
datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3769&m=0, downloaded 15 Nov 2008.
International Species Information System (ISIS). ISIS Species Holdings. From http://www.isis.org/CMSHOME/, downloaded 13 Oct 2008.
Johnson A & Cezilly FC. 2008. The Greater Flamingo. T & AD Poyser, London, UK.
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