Lesser Flamingo

The lesser flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though still a tall bird by most standards, occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Mostly pinkish white, it is told from the greater flamingo by the much more extensive black on its bill. It feeds mainly on Spirulina, algae that grow only in very alkaline lakes, filtering them out with a deep bill adapted for tiny food items. In Africa it breeds principally on the highly caustic Lake Natron in Tanzania. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky-white egg on a mound of mud, and the chicks gather in creches that can number over 100,000.

About the lesser flamingo

The lesser flamingo is the smallest of the world's flamingos and probably the most numerous. A filter-feeding wading bird of the flamingo family, it lives on the alkaline soda lakes and salt pans of sub-Saharan Africa and northwestern India, where it strains microscopic blue-green cyanobacteria from the water with its specialized bill.

Its scientific name is Phoeniconaias minor. Even as the smallest flamingo, it is a tall bird by most standards. It stands around 80 to 90 cm (31 to 35 in), and its total length and wingspan both fall between 90 and 105 cm (35 and 41 in). Weight runs from 1.2 to 2.7 kg (2.6 to 6.0 lb). Males are noticeably bigger than females, averaging about 1,798 g (4.0 lb) against about 1,529 g (3.4 lb).

Most of the plumage is pinkish white to deeper pink, with black primary and secondary flight feathers. The pink comes from pigments in the cyanobacteria the bird eats; although the food looks blue-green, it contains the photosynthetic pigments that color the feathers. The legs are thin and pink, the eyes are golden with a purple ring, and the long neck rests in an S-curve when the bird lays its head along its back.

The bill is the key feature. It is deep, keeled, and sharply angled, and it is dark red but looks black from a distance. Inside are more than 10,000 tiny plates that act as a sieve. The tongue pumps water through the bill, and the plates trap plankton. Chicks hatch in grey down that turns coarser and brownish at about two weeks old.

Behavior and diet

The lesser flamingo is a dietary specialist. Its main food is Spirulina, microscopic cyanobacteria that grow only in very alkaline lakes and are rich in protein, fat, and carbohydrate. A single bird eats about 72 g (2.5 oz) of cyanobacteria a day. It also takes other algae, diatoms, and small invertebrates such as copepods and rotifers. Because flocks gather on sodic, alkaline water, their presence is a sign that a lake is unsuitable for irrigation.

These birds are most active at dawn and dusk, spending much of that time feeding, and they feed longest in the wet season when diatoms are plentiful. They move constantly in search of food. Changes in rainfall, salt levels, and algae concentration trigger movements, and lesser flamingos can travel up to 450 km (280 mi) in a day to find good conditions.

Flocks are large and tightly packed, often 500 to 1,000 birds. Living in a crowd gives protection, since many eyes scan for danger. A bird that spots a threat stretches its neck straight up, and the rest of the flock copies the pose within seconds before flying off if needed. More vigilant birds stay on the edges, while those in the center focus on feeding. Predators include marabou storks, vultures, baboons, African fish eagles, martial eagles, jackals, hyenas, and big cats.

Courtship is a mass event. Groups of males perform ritual displays, such as head-wagging with the bill pointed straight up, head-bobbing, and a "broken-neck" posture where the bill snaps down to the lower neck. They also flash red tail tufts, give wing salutes, and bow, while the whole flock roars like surf. Displays can go on for days or even weeks.

Individual birds do not breed every year; they may breed only every 5 to 8 years, usually between October and February. Colonies nest in very shallow water, under 1 m (3.3 ft) deep, on soda mudflats. Each pair builds a cone-shaped mud mound 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) tall and lays a single chalky egg, occasionally two. Both parents incubate for 28 to 31 days and feed the chick a red, nutrient-rich crop milk.

At about three weeks old, chicks gather into huge nurseries called crèches that can hold more than 100,000 young. A few adults lead them on foot to fresh water, sometimes more than 32 km (20 mi) away. Chicks fly at around 75 days and are independent at about 90 days, and they mature at 3 to 4 years. Some chicks die from heavy rings of crystallized soda that build up on their legs in salt-saturated water and drag them down.

Range and habitat

Lesser flamingos are most common in Africa, from Senegal and the coast of Guinea in the west to South Africa in the south, with smaller numbers in coastal Madagascar and western Chad. Outside Africa, they live in northwestern India and along the India–Pakistan border, and some move between the two continents. Birds farther north are generally vagrants.

They need large alkaline or saline lakes, salt pans, and estuaries. The main African breeding site is the highly caustic Lake Natron in northern Tanzania. Other breeding sites include Etosha Pan in Namibia, Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana, and Kamfers Dam in South Africa. In India, they have bred in the Rann of Kutch and in the salt pans of Zinzuwadia and Purabcheria.

Lesser flamingo vs greater flamingo

The greater flamingo is the only other flamingo of the Old World, and the two species can occur together. The bill is the clearest field mark.

Size alone can mislead unless both species stand together, because males and females of each species differ in height. For the flamingos of the Americas, see the American flamingo and Chilean flamingo.

Conservation status

The lesser flamingo is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, based on a 2018 BirdLife International assessment, and it is on CITES Appendix II. Its population probably peaked at up to two million birds, yet it is declining and depends on very few breeding sites.

Several of those sites face pressure. Lesser flamingos on Kenya's Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria have been hit by suspected heavy-metal poisoning. Lake Natron, the main African breeding ground, has been threatened by a proposed soda ash plant. The only South African breeding site, Kamfers Dam, faces pollution and development. Rising water levels in East African soda lakes also reduce the algae the birds depend on.