Phoenicoparrus andinus

Geographic Range

Phoenicoparrus andinus (Andean flamingo) is found in the Chilean Andes of South America, which includes southern Peru, north-central Chile, western Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina.

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Andean flamingos live in highland salt lakes of the Andes mountains from 2,500 to 4,950 m above sea level, but usually occuring between 3500 and 4500 meters elevation. Their habitat mainly consists of large alkaline or saline lagoons with soft sediment bottoms. These habitats are often characterized by relatively sparse vegetation. In winter these flamingos may move to lower elevations in search of food. Of the three types of flamingos living in the Andes (Chilean flamingo, James’ flamingo and Andean flamingo), Andean flamingos live in the most diverse set of habitats.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• mountains mountains

• Aquatic Biomes
• lakes and ponds
• temporary pools
• brackish water brackish water

Physical Description

Andean flamingos have the typical flamingo form with long, thin legs and neck. The average Andean flamingo stands 1 to 1.4 meters tall with a wingspan of 1 to 1.6 meters, and a weight of 1.5 to 4.1 kg. Plumage is light pink, with the head, neck, and upper breast a darker red. The curved bill is yellow and black. They have three-forward pointing toes, lacking their fourth toe. Juvenile Andean flamingos are grey before they develop their light pink plumage. These are the only species of flamingo with yellow legs and a red spot between the nostrils. They also have very deep bills and stiff lamellae on the lower jaw to help filter fine particles for consumption and keep other larger particles out.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes colored or patterned differently
• male more colorful

Reproduction

Flamingos are monogamous for several seasons. Male flamingos display their feathers and plumage in an effort to court females.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Andean flamingos breed in December and January, variation may be related to rainfall patterns. Andean flamingos begin breeding once they have become fully colored adults, usually at three to six years old. Flamingos breed colonially, with up to thousands of individuals, sometimes in mixed-species groups with Phoenicopterus chilensis or Phoenicoparrus jamesi . Breeding groups of as few as 50 have been observed.

Flamingo nests are made purely of mud. Flamingos scoop up mounds of mud with their beaks and then smooth the mound with their feet. They then form a small, cone shaped bowl on the top. A small moat is dug around the nest. Nests are often reused, and built close together. These nests generally stand around 0.31m in height.

Andean flamingos lay just one egg at a time. The egg is a pinkish white color, and is incubated by both parents for 27-31 days. The average egg is around seven centimeters long and weighs approximately 113-141 grams.

Newly hatched flamingos are covered in white/grey down feathers. They live in the nest for the next five to eight days before forming crèches (groups of chicks). These crèches, which can contain hundreds of chicks, are taken care of by only a few adult flamingos. It takes six to ten months before chicks are ready to fend for themselves. For several months adults feed their young "crop milk", food and secretions from the parent's crop.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
• oviparous oviparous

Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young. Hatchlings are cared for communally in creches by a rotating set of flock adults. Parents come to the creches throughout the day to find and feed their young, individual recognition doesn't seem to pose a problem. Hatchling flamingos are fed by their parents for an extended time, even after their beaks have become fully functional for filtering food.

• Parental Investment
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The lifespan Andean flamingos in the wild is unknown. They are believed to live for twenty to thirty years. In captivity some flamingos have lived to 60 years old.

Behavior

Andean flamingos are highly gregarious, forming large flocks of tens of thousands of birds. The only typical form of aggression is between males when mate guarding. Andean flamingos move among ponds and lagoons throughout the year, in search of food. They may tend to occur at lower elevations during the winter. They are active during the day.

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• nomadic nomadic
• colonial colonial

Communication and Perception

There are many ways in which flamingos communicate with each other. One is the wing salute where they spread their wings for a couple seconds, showing off its colors. They also stretch the neck and flip up its tail. Vocalizations are common. A honking vocalization, similar to the sounds that geese make in flight, is used to keep groups together. They also growl and grunt while mating and during aggression.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• vibrations vibrations

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• ultraviolet
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• ultrasound ultrasound
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Andean flamingos use filter feeding to capture small particles at the sediment/water interface. They have narrow and deep lower mandibles which allow them to capture small particles, most commonly diatoms (in the family Bacillariophyceae , genus Surirella ) and algae, such as blue-green algae Spirulina plantensis .

• Primary Diet
• herbivore herbivore
  • algivore

• Animal Foods
• zooplankton zooplankton

• Plant Foods
• algae
• phytoplankton phytoplankton

• Other Foods
• microbes

• Foraging Behavior
• filter-feeding filter-feeding

Predation

There are not many predators of Andean flamingos. Culpeo foxes ( Pseudalopex culpaeus ) may take eggs or newly hatched young. Large, predatory birds may also sometimes take young flamingos. Humans have also been known to hunt flamingos and collect their eggs. Andean miners once believed that the fat of flamingos was a cure for tuberculosis.

Ecosystem Roles

Andean flamingos impact populations of aquatic algae, diatoms, and plankton.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Andean flamingos have been exploited by humans rarely in the past, probably because they tend to live and breed in remote, bleak areas.

• Positive Impacts
• food food
• ecotourism ecotourism

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no negative impacts of Andean flamingos on humans.

Conservation Status

Andean flamingos are considered vulnerable and are difficult to breed in captivity. Northern Chilean populations were severely decimated by a drought. They are now protected by being listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and the Convention on Migratory Species. A separate and self-sustaining population of Andean flamingos is being kept at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the United Kingdom.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Jacob Meyers (author), Kalamazoo College, Ann Fraser (editor, instructor), Kalamazoo College.

References

Banney, R., R. Rohbaugh, S. Podulka. 2004. Handbook of Bird Biology . Ithaca, New York: Princeton University Press.

Fjeldsa, J., N. Krabbe. 1990. Birds of the High Andes . Svendborg, Denmark: Apollo Books.

Mascitti, V., S. Bonaventura. 2002. Patterns of Abundance, Distribution and Habitat Use of Flamingos in the High Andes, South America. Waterbirds , 25/3: 358-365.

SeaWorld Adventure Parks, 2002. "Flamingos" (On-line). Accessed October 10, 2005 at http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Flamingos/home.html .

Thomson, L. 1964. A New Dictionary of Birds . New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Zoological Society of San Diego, 2005. "San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: Flamingo" (On-line). Accessed October 10, 2005 at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-flamingo.html .

del Hoyo, J. 1992. Phoenicopteriformes. Pp. 508-526 in Handbook of the Birds of the World , Vol. 1. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.