Flamingos Habitat

This is not an article about the Flamingo Casino in Vegas, which is a habitat for compulsive gamblers and other wild things! This is about the habitat of real world birds called flamingos! Flamingos are long legged birds with pink plumage, which are known to populate various tropical and sub-tropical areas in the world. There are six species of flamingos. Read on to know about flamingo's habitat in various part of the world.

Facts About Flamingo's Habitat
Large alkaline, saline lakes or lagoons, without vegetation are the preferred flamingo's habitat. The lakes could be inland or near the sea. They thrive in a variety of habitats like sandy islands in intertidal zones, mangrove swamps and tidal flats. There are six flamingo species around the world. Two are found in the old world (Eurasia) and four in American continent. If you are wondering why are flamingos pink, then that is due to carotenoid pigments that occur in their food sources. Here is a listing of the various habitats of flamingos around the world, according to different species.

Greater Flamingo's Habitat
The 'Greater Flamingos' (a.k.a Phoenicopterus roseus) are the most widespread species in the flamingo family. This is the largest of all the species of flamingos with an average height of 43 - 60 inches and average weight of 4.4 - 8.8 pounds. The greater flamingos have been known to live as much as 75 years. They are found in Africa, the southern part of Asia (particularly coastal part of India and Pakistan), Middle East, Western Mediterranean and the southern part of Europe. Stray sightings have been reported all over the world.

Lesser Flamingo's Habitat
The 'Lesser Flamingos' (Phoenicopterus minor) are smaller sized species, particularly found in Africa's 'Great Rift Valley' and southern Asia (mostly in India). They are the most numerous of all the species.

Chilean Flamingo's Habitat
The Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is a species which closely resembles the greater flamingos. They are found in South America (in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil).

Andean Flamingo's Habitat
The Andean flamingos (Phoenicopterus Andinus) is one of the six species of flamingos, restricted to the high Andes mountains in southern Peru, northern Chile and Bolivia. This species is facing the danger of extinction due to its hunting and low number of breeding sites.

James's Flamingo's Habitat
James's Flamingo's (a.k.a Phoenicopterus jamesi and Puna flamingo) is a small species of flamingos which is found mostly in the high Andean plateaus of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru, in South America. It is therefore closely related to the Andean flamingo.

American Flamingo's Habitat
The American flamingo is closely related to and closely resembles the Greater Flamingo. It has been found to breed in coastal Columbia and Venezuela, in the Galapagos islands, in Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, Turks and Caicos islands, Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola.

For more on this read, 'Interesting Facts About Flamingos'.

Lake Nakura in central Kenya is a flamingo hot spot, with about 2 million of them gathering there to feast on the abundant algae every year. The pink sea of flamingos is a beautiful sight to behold. Hope, this article has given you enough information about flamingo's habitat.