Specie's Page                                               South America - Chilean Flamingo

Chilean Flamingo  

UK Status: Only found in Zoo's and Wildlife Parks.

Habitat: This bird feeds on plankton and algae, and lives by water where its unique filters allow it to filter its food from mud. Obviously then it favours large shallow areas of water, like sandbanks and mud flats in coastal areas and in shallow lagoons where it can feed.

Breeding: This bird is very communal and they nest in large colonies.  They build a pillar of mud to nest upon, both parents incubate the single large, chalky white egg. Young are fed on a nutritious milky substance produced by both parents, this milky substance is crimson in colour because of their diet. Young birds don't have their pink plumage until they are two to three years old.

Comment: These birds in zoo's and wildlife parks are not captive, but are usually kept out in the open in a natural setting. They appear to be free to go if they wanted, but choose not to. This bird comes from South America, from Ecuador and Peru to Chile and Argentina, eastwards to Brazil. This bird was also introduced to Germany and the Netherlands,