Lesser flamingo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lesser flamingo |
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| At Lake Nakuru, Kenya | |
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| Genus: |
Phoeniconaias
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| Species: |
minor
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The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a beautiful bird found mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. It's a type of flamingo, known for its pretty pink feathers. Sometimes, these birds fly to other places, but they usually don't stay there for long.
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What Makes Lesser Flamingos Special?
The lesser flamingo is the smallest type of flamingo. Even so, it's still a tall and large bird compared to most others! These flamingos can weigh between 1.2 and 2.7 kilograms (about 2.6 to 6 pounds). When they stand, they are usually about 80 to 90 centimeters (31 to 35 inches) tall. Their total length, from beak to tail, and their wingspan are similar, ranging from 90 to 105 centimeters (35 to 41 inches).
Most of their feathers are a lovely pinkish-white color. A key way to tell a lesser flamingo apart from the greater flamingo (another type of flamingo in the Old World) is its beak. The lesser flamingo has much more black on its beak. It can be tricky to tell them apart just by size unless they are standing next to each other, because male and female flamingos of both types can be different heights.
What Do Lesser Flamingos Eat?
The lesser flamingo might be the most common type of flamingo, with a population that has reached up to two million birds! These flamingos mainly eat tiny algae called Spirulina. This algae grows best in very salty lakes, also known as alkaline lakes. If you see many flamingos near a lake, it often means the water is very salty and not good for watering crops.
Even though the algae they eat are blue-green, they contain special colors called photosynthetic pigments. These pigments are what give the flamingos their famous pink color! Their special deep beak is perfectly shaped for filtering out these tiny food bits from the water. They also eat other small algae and tiny water creatures like copepods and rotifers.
Who Hunts Lesser Flamingos?
Lesser flamingos can be hunted by several different animals. These include large birds like marabou storks, vultures, African fish eagles, and Martial Eagles. Other predators are baboons, jackals, hyenas, foxes, Great white pelicans, and even big cats.
How Lesser Flamingos Reproduce
In Africa, where most lesser flamingos live, they mainly breed at the very salty Lake Natron in Tanzania. Other places they breed in Africa include Etosha Pan, Makgadikgadi Pan, and Kamfers Dam. They also breed in parts of southwestern and southern Asia, like the Zinzuwadia and Purabcheria salt pans in northwestern India. Sometimes, flamingos travel between Africa and India.
Like all flamingos, they lay just one chalky-white egg. They build a special mud mound for their nest. After the chicks hatch, they quickly join large groups called creches. These creches can have more than 100,000 young flamingos! A few adult birds look after these huge groups. They lead the young flamingos on foot to find fresh water, a journey that can be over 20 kilometers (12 miles) long.
Why Lesser Flamingos Are in Danger
Even though the lesser flamingo is the most common type of flamingo, its population is shrinking. Because of this, it is listed as near threatened. This means they are close to becoming endangered. One big reason for this is that they have very few breeding sites, and some of these places are threatened by human activities.
For example, the flamingo populations in two important East African lakes, Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria, have been harmed by suspected heavy metal poisoning. Also, their main breeding area in Africa, Lake Natron, is currently at risk from a planned soda ash factory. The only breeding site in South Africa, at Kamfers Dam, is threatened by pollution and new buildings. Rising water levels in East African soda lakes also reduce the amount of food available, which is another threat to these amazing birds.
