American Flamingo

Description:

American Flamingos measure from 120 to 145 cm (47 to 57 in) tall. The males are slightly larger weighing in at an average of 2.8 kg (6.2 lb), while females average 2.2 kg (4.9 lb). Most of the bird's plumage is pink. The wing coverts are red, and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink and white with a very long black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. Their calling noise is like a goose-like sound.

Habitat:

Their preferred habitats are saline lagoons, mudflats, and shallow brackish coastal or inland lakes. They range from the Galápagos, coastal Colombia, Venezuela and nearby islands. It also breeds in Mexico, Cuba and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The reason they are found in Florida is because their ancestors had flown from their original habitat years earlier and resulted to stay.

Notes:

Between May and August, the American Flamingo lays a single, chalky-white egg on a "mud mound". The eggs are incubated from 28 to 32 days. Both parents take care of their offspring for a period of up to 6 years, when they reach sexual maturity. They live to be around 40 years old, one of the longest in birds. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridae Genus: Phoenicopterus Species: P. ruber