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{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Pink flamingo|the film|Pink Flamingos{{!}}''Pink Flamingo''s|the lawn ornament|Plastic flamingo}}
{{Pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Flamingos
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|25|0}}<small>Late [[Oligocene]] – Recent</small>
| image = Flamingos Laguna Colorada.jpg
| image_caption = [[James's flamingo]]s (''P. jamesi'')
| taxon = Phoenicopteridae
| authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1831
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]]
| subdivision =
* {{extinct}}''[[Elornis]]''?
* {{extinct}}''[[Harrisonavis|Harrisonarvis]]''
* {{extinct}}''[[Leakeyornis]]''
* {{extinct}}''[[Phoeniconotius]]''
* ''[[Phoenicopterus]]''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Torres |first1= Chris R|last2=Ogawa |first2=Lisa M
 |last3= Gillingham|first3= Mark AF |last4= Ferrari|first4=Brittney  |last5=Marcel  |first5=  van Tuinen |date=2014 |title= A multi-locus inference of the evolutionary diversification of extant flamingos (Phoenicopteridae). |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=14 |issue= 36|page= 36|doi= 10.1186/1471-2148-14-36|pmid= 24580860|pmc= 4016592|doi-access= free|bibcode= 2014BMCEE..14...36T}}</ref>
* ''[[Phoeniconaias]]''
* ''[[Phoenicoparrus]]''
* {{extinct}}''[[Xenorhynchopsis]]''
| range_map = Flamingo range.png
| range_map_caption = Global distribution of flamingos
}}

'''Flamingos''' or '''flamingoes'''{{Efn|Both forms of the plural are attested, according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''.}} ({{IPAc-en|f|l|ə|'|m|ɪ|ŋ|ɡ|oʊ|z}}) are a type of [[Wader|wading bird]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] '''Phoenicopteridae''', which is the only extant family in the order [[Phoenicopteriformes]]. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean), and two species native to [[Afro-Eurasia]].

A group of flamingoes is called a "flamboyance".<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Flamboyance of Flamingos and Other Brilliant Bird Group Names |url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/s/flamboyance-flamingos-brilliant-bird-groups/ |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Dictionary.com |date=3 October 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
[[File:Greaterflamingo-uenozoo2008.ogg|thumb|Captive [[American flamingo]]s feeding]]

The name ''flamingo'' comes from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] or [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|flamengo}} {{gloss|flame-colored}}, which in turn comes from [[Old Occitan|Provençal]] {{lang|pro|flamenc}} – a combination of {{lang|pro|flama}} {{gloss|flame}} and a Germanic-like suffix ''[[wikt:-ing#Etymology 3|-ing]]''. The word may also have been influenced by the Spanish ethnonym {{lang|es|flamenco}} {{gloss|Fleming}} or {{gloss|Flemish}}.
The name of the genus, ''Phoenicopterus'', is {{ety|grc|''φοινικόπτερος'' (phoinikopteros)|[[crimson]]/red-feathered}};<ref>{{OEtymD|flamingo}}</ref> other genera names include ''[[Lesser flamingo|Phoeniconaias]],'' which means {{gloss|crimson/red [[Naiad|water nymph]] (or naiad)}}, and ''[[Phoenicoparrus]],'' which means {{gloss|crimson/red bird (though, an unknown bird of [[omen]])}}.

==Taxonomy and systematics==
The family Phoenicopteridae was introduced by the French zoologist [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte]] in 1831, with ''[[Phoenicopterus]]'' as the [[type genus]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1831 | title=Saggio di una distribuzione metodica degli animali vertebrati | language=Italian | location=Rome | publisher=Antonio Boulzaler | page=59 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33059914 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | location=New York | pages=132, 227 | hdl=2246/830 | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}<!--Linked page allows download of the 48MB pdf--></ref>

Traditionally, the long-legged [[Ciconiiformes]], probably a [[paraphyletic]] assemblage, have been considered the flamingos' closest relatives and the family was included in the order. Usually, the [[ibis]]es and [[spoonbill]]s of the [[Threskiornithidae]] were considered their closest relatives within this order. Earlier genetic studies, such as those of [[Charles Sibley]] and colleagues, also supported this relationship.<ref>{{cite web |last=Salzman |first=Eric |title=Sibley's Classification of Birds |work=Ornitologia e dintorni |date=December 1993 |url=http://www.scricciolo.com/classificazione/sequence4.htm |access-date=15 November 2009 |archive-date=13 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413052747/http://www.scricciolo.com/classificazione/sequence4.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Relationships to the [[waterfowl]] were considered as well,<ref name=Sibley69>{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/1366077 |last1=Sibley |first1=Charles G. |author-link=Charles Sibley |last2=Corbin |first2=Kendall W. |last3=Haavie |first3=Joan H. |title=The Relationships of the Flamingos as Indicated by the Egg-White Proteins and Hemoglobins |journal=Condor |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=155–179 |year=1969 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v071n02/p0155-p0179.pdf |jstor=1366077}}</ref> especially as flamingos are [[parasite|parasitized]] by [[feather louse|feather lice]] of the genus ''[[Anaticola]]'', which are otherwise exclusively found on ducks and geese.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Kevin P. |last2=Kennedy |first2=Martyn |last3=McCracken |first3=Kevin G. |title=Reinterpreting the origins of flamingo lice: cospeciation or host-switching? |journal=Biology Letters |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=275–278 |year=2006 |pmid=17148381 |pmc=1618896 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2005.0427 |url=http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/~kevin_mccracken/reprints/biol-lett-2-275.pdf |access-date=31 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325004330/http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/~kevin_mccracken/reprints/biol-lett-2-275.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The peculiar [[presbyornithids]] were used to argue for a close relationship between flamingos, waterfowl, and waders.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Feduccia |first=Alan |title=Osteological evidence for shorebird affinities of the flamingos |journal=Auk |volume=93 |issue=3 |page=587 |year=1976 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v093n03/p0587-p0601.pdf |access-date=3 November 2009}}</ref> A 2002 paper concluded they are [[waterfowl]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kurochkin |first1=E. N. |last2=Dyke |first2=G. J. |last3=Karhu |first3=A. A. |year=2002 |title=A New Presbyornithid Bird (Aves, Anseriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern Mongolia |journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=3386 |hdl=2246/2875 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2002)386<0001:ANPBAA>2.0.CO;2|s2cid=59147935 |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/2246/2875/1//v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N3386.pdf }}</ref> but a 2014 comprehensive study of bird orders found that flamingos and grebes are not waterfowl, but rather are part of [[Columbea]], along with [[doves]], [[sandgrouse]], and [[mesite]]s.<ref name=Jarvis2014>{{cite journal | last1 = Jarvis | first1 = E.D. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2014 | title = Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds | journal = Science | volume = 346 | issue = 6215| pages = 1320–1331 | doi=10.1126/science.1253451 | pmid=25504713 | pmc=4405904| bibcode = 2014Sci...346.1320J }}</ref>

===Relationship with grebes===
[[File:Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)- Breeding plumage W2 IMG 8770.jpg|thumb|right|Many molecular and morphological studies support a relationship between [[grebe]]s and flamingos.]]

Recent molecular studies have suggested a relation with [[grebe]]s,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Chubb | first1 = AL | year = 2004 | title = New nuclear evidence for the oldest divergence among neognath birds: the phylogenetic utility of ZENK (i) | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 30 | issue = 1| pages = 140–151 | doi=10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00159-3 | pmid=15022765| bibcode = 2004MolPE..30..140C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ericson |first1=Per G. P. |date=December 2006 |title=Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils |journal=[[Biology Letters]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=543–547 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523 |pmid=17148284 |url=http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/neoaves.pdf |last2=Anderson |first2=CL |last3=Britton |first3=T |last4=Elzanowski |first4=A |last5=Johansson |first5=US |last6=Källersjö |first6=M |last7=Ohlson |first7=JI |last8=Parsons |first8=TJ |last9=Zuccon |first9=D |pmc=1834003 |access-date=15 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325235703/http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/neoaves.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Shannon J. |last1=Hackett |first2=Rebecca T. |last2=Kimball |first3=Sushma |last3=Reddy |first4=Rauri C. K. |last4=Bowie |first5=Edward L. |last5=Braun |first6=Michael J. |last6=Braun |first7=Jena L. |last7=Chojnowski |first8=W. Andrew |last8=Cox |last9=Kin-Lan Han |first9=John  |title=A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History |journal=Science |volume=320 |issue=5884 |pages=1763–1768 |doi=10.1126/science.1157704 |pmid=18583609 |date=27 June 2008|bibcode=2008Sci...320.1763H |s2cid=6472805 }}</ref> while morphological evidence also strongly supports a relationship between flamingos and grebes. They hold at least 11 morphological traits in common, which are not found in other birds. Many of these characteristics have been previously identified on flamingos, but not on grebes.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2003.00094.x |last=Mayr |first=Gerald |title=Morphological evidence for sister group relationship between flamingos (Aves: Phoenicopteridae) and grebes (Podicipedidae) |journal=[[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]] |volume=140 |issue=2 |pages=157–169 |year=2004 |url=http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/flamingo.pdf |access-date=3 November 2009|doi-access=free }}</ref> The fossil [[Palaelodus|palaelodids]] can be considered evolutionarily, and ecologically, intermediate between flamingos and grebes.<ref name=Gottingen>{{Cite journal |last=Mayr |first=Gerald |title=The contribution of fossils to the reconstruction of the higher-level phylogeny of birds |journal=Species, Phylogeny and Evolution |issn=1098-660X |volume=3 |pages=59–64 |year=2006 |url=http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/gottingen.pdf |access-date=12 August 2009}}</ref>

For the grebe-flamingo [[clade]], the [[taxon]] [[Mirandornithes]] ("miraculous birds" due to their extreme divergence and apomorphies) has been proposed. Alternatively, they could be placed in one order, with Phoenocopteriformes taking priority.<ref name=Gottingen/>

===Phylogeny===
The [[cladogram]] below showing the phylogenetic relationships between the six extant flamingo species is based on a study by Roberto Frias-Soler and collaborators that was published in 2022.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Frias-Soler | first1=R.C. | last2=Bauer | first2=A. | last3=Grohme | first3=M.A. | last4=Espinosa López | first4=G. | last5=Gutiérrez Costa | first5=M. | last6=Llanes-Quevedo | first6=A. | last7=Van Slobbe | first7=F. | last8=Frohme | first8=M. | last9=Wink | first9=M. | date=2022 | title=Phylogeny of the order Phoenicopteriformes and population genetics of the Caribbean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'': Aves) | journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume=196 | issue=4 | pages=1485–1504 | doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac040 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
{{Clade | style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=[[Phoenicopteriformes]]
|sublabel1=Phoenicopteridae
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |label1=''Phoeniconaias''
      |1=[[Lesser flamingo]] (''Phoeniconaias minor'')
      |label2=''[[Phoenicoparrus]]''
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Andean flamingo]] (''Phoenicoparrus andinus'')
         |2=[[James's flamingo]] (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi'')
         }}
      }}
   |label2=''[[Phoenicopterus]]''
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Chilean flamingo]] (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'')
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Greater flamingo]] (''Phoenicopterus roseus'')
         |2=[[American flamingo]] (''Phoenicopterus ruber'')
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

===Species===
Six extant flamingo species are recognized by most sources, and were formerly placed in one genus (have common characteristics) – ''Phoenicopterus''. As a result of a 2014 publication,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-36|pmid= 24580860|pmc= 4016592|title= A multi-locus inference of the evolutionary diversification of extant flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)|journal= BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume= 14|issue= 1|pages= 36|year= 2014|last1= Torres|first1= Chris R|last2= Ogawa|first2= Lisa M|last3= Gillingham|first3= Mark AF|last4= Ferrari|first4= Brittney|last5= Van Tuinen|first5= Marcel|doi-access= free|bibcode= 2014BMCEE..14...36T}}</ref> the family was reclassified into two genera.<ref>Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). (2016). [http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ IOC World Bird List (v 6.3).]</ref> In 2020, the family had three recognized genera, according to [[Handbook of the Birds of the World|HBW]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.hbw.com/species/lesser-flamingo-phoeniconaias-minor|title=Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)|website=www.hbw.com|year=2020|doi=10.2173/bow.lesfla1.01|language=en|access-date=2019-12-18|last1=Del Hoyo|first1=Josep|last2=Boesman|first2=Peter F. D.|last3=Garcia|first3=Ernest|last4=Kirwan|first4=Guy M.|s2cid=226397475|editor1-first=Josep|editor1-last=Del Hoyo|editor2-first=Andrew|editor2-last=Elliott|editor3-first=Jordi|editor3-last=Sargatal|editor4-first=David|editor4-last=Christie|editor5-first=Eduardo|editor5-last=De Juana}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
!Image!! Species !! colspan="2"|Geographic location
|-
![[File:Flamant rose Salines de Thyna.jpg|175px]]
|[[Greater flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoenicopterus roseus'')
| rowspan="2" | Old World
| Parts of Africa, S. Europe and S. and SW Asia (most widespread flamingo).
|-
!  [[File:Lesser Flamingo RWD.jpg|175px]]
|[[Lesser flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoeniconaias minor'')
| Africa (e.g. [[Great Rift Valley]]) to NW [[India]] (most numerous flamingo).
|-
!  [[File:Westfalenpark-100821-17767-Flamingo.jpg|175px]]
|[[Chilean flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoenicopterus chilensis'')
| rowspan="4"| New World
| Temperate S. South America.
|-
!  [[File:James Flamingo.jpg|175px]]
|[[James's flamingo|James's or Puna flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoenicoparrus jamesi'')
| High Andes in [[Peru]], [[Chile]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Argentina]].
|-
!  [[File:Two andeanflamingo june2003 arp.jpg|175px]]
|[[Andean flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoenicoparrus andinus'')
| High Andes in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
|-
!  [[File:Greater flamingo galapagos.JPG|175px]]
|[[American flamingo|American or Caribbean flamingo]]{{pb}}(''Phoenicopterus ruber'')
| [[Caribbean]] islands, Caribbean [[Mexico]], southern [[Florida]],<ref name=Florida>[https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2018/02/23/flamingo-native-florida-again/364422002/ Scientists: Florida flamingos are native to the state], ''[[The News-Press|News-Press]]'', Chad Gillis, February 23, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2019.</ref> [[Belize]], coastal [[Colombia]], northern [[Brazil]], [[Venezuela]] and [[Galápagos Islands]].
|}

Prehistoric species of flamingo:
* ''[[Elornis]]''? <small>Milne-Edwards, 1868</small> (Late Oligocene of France, Europe)<ref name=M05>{{Cite journal|last1=Mayr|first1=G.|year=2005|title=The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe|url=https://www.senckenberg.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/tertiary_birds.pdf |journal=Biological Reviews|volume=80|issue=4 |pages=515–542|doi= 10.1017/S1464793105006779|pmid=16221327 |s2cid=9256162 }}</ref>
* ''[[Harrisonavis]]'' <small>(Gervais, 1852)</small> (Middle Oligocene–Middle Miocene of C. Europe)<ref name=torres15>{{cite journal|last1=Torres|first1=C. R.|last2=De Pietri|first2=V. L.|last3=Louchart|first3=A.|last4=Van Tuinen|first4=M.|year=2015|title=New cranial material of the earliest filter feeding flamingo ''Harrisonavis croizeti'' (Aves, Phoenicopteridae) informs the evolution of the highly specialized filter feeding apparatus|journal=Organisms Diversity & Evolution|volume=15|issue=3|pages=609–618|doi=10.1007/s13127-015-0209-7|bibcode=2015ODivE..15..609T |s2cid=18198929}}</ref>
* ''[[Leakeyornis]]'' <small>(Harrison and Walker, 1976)</small> (Early to Middle Miocene of Lake Victoria, Kenya)<ref name=RW83>{{Cite journal|last1=Rich|first1=P. V.|last2=Walker|first2=C.A.|year=1983|title=A New Genus of Miocene Flamingo from East Africa|journal=Ostrich| volume=54|issue=2|pages=95–104|doi=10.1080/00306525.1983.9634452|bibcode=1983Ostri..54...95R }}</ref>
* ''[[Phoeniconaias proeses]]'' <small>(De Vis 1905)</small> (Pliocene of Lake Kanunka, Australia)<ref name=RTRM87>{{Cite journal|last1=Rich|first1=P.V.|last2=van Tets|first2=G.F.|last3=Rich|first3=T.H.V.|last4=McEvey|first4=A.R.|year=1987|title=The Pliocene and Quaternary Flamingos of Australia|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126031#page/209/mode/1up|journal= Memoirs of the Queensland Museum|volume=25|issue=1|pages=207–225}}</ref>
* ''[[Phoeniconaias siamensis]]'' <small>Cheneval ''et al''. 1991</small> (Early Miocene of Mae Long Reservoir, Thailand)<ref name=C91>{{Cite journal|last1=Cheneval|first1=J.|last2=Ginsburg|first2=L.|last3=Mourer-Chauvire|first3=Cécile| last4=Ratanasthien|first4=Benjavun|year=1991|title=The Miocene avifauna of the Li Mae Long locality, Thailand: systematics and paleoecology|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229274612|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences|volume=6|issue=2|pages=117–126|doi=10.1016/0743-9547(91)90103-5 |bibcode=1991JAESc...6..117C }}</ref>
* ''[[Phoeniconotius]]'' <small>Miller 1963</small> (Late Oligocene of South Australia)<ref name=M63>{{Cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=A.H.|year=1963|title=The fossil flamingos of Australia.|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v065n04/p0289-p0299.pdf|journal=The Condor|volume=65|issue=4|pages=289–299|doi=10.2307/1365355|jstor=1365355 }}</ref>
* ''[[Phoenicopterus copei]]'' <small>(Miller 1963)</small> (Late Pleistocene of North America and Mexico)<ref name=H55/>
* ''[[Phoenicopterus floridanus]]'' <small>(Brodkorb 1953)</small> (Early Pliocene of Florida)<ref name=B53>{{Cite journal|last1=Brodkorb|first1=P.|year=1953|title=A Pliocene flamingo from Florida|journal=Natural History Miscellanea|issue=124|pages=1–4}}</ref>
* ''[[Phoenicopterus minutus]]'' <small>Howard 1955</small> (Late Pleistocene of California, US)<ref name=H55>{{Cite journal|last=Howard|first=H.|year=1955|title=Fossil Birds from Manix Lake California: Descriptions of late Pleistocene bira remains, including a new species of flamingo| url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0264j/report.pdf | journal=Geological Survey Professional Paper|volume= 264|pages=199–205}}</ref>
* ''[[Phoenicopterus novaehollandiae]]'' <small>Miller 1963</small> (Late Oligocene of South Australia)<ref name=M63/>
* ''[[Phoenicopterus stocki]]'' <small>(Miller 1944)</small> (Middle Pliocene of Rincón, Mexico)<ref name=M44>{{Cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=L.|year=1944|title=A Pliocene flamingo from Mexico|url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v056n02/p0077-p0082.pdf|journal=The Wilson Bulletin|volume=56|issue=2|pages=77–82}}</ref>
* ''[[Xenorhynchopsis]]'' <small>De Vis 1905</small> (Pliocene to Pleistocene of Australia)<ref name=RTRM87/>

==Description==
[[File:Flamingos With Ankles Circled.png|thumb|Two flamingos with their ankles circled in red]]
[[File:American flamingos in Denver.jpg|thumb|American and Chilean flamingos in captivity]]
[[File:Flamingos in flight.jpg|thumb|Flamingos in flight at [[Río Lagartos]], Yucatán, Mexico]]

Flamingos usually stand on one leg with the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behaviour is not fully understood. One theory is that standing on one leg allows the birds to conserve more body heat, given that they spend a significant amount of time wading in cold water.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8197000/8197932.stm |title=Why flamingoes stand on one leg |last=Walker |first=Matt |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=9 December 2009 |work=BBC News}}</ref> However, the behaviour also takes place in warm water and is also observed in birds that do not typically stand in water. An alternative theory is that standing on one leg reduces the energy expenditure for producing muscular effort to stand and balance on one leg. A study on cadavers showed that the one-legged pose could be held without any muscle activity, while living flamingos demonstrate substantially less body sway in a one-legged posture.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chang|first1=Young-Hui |last2=Ting |first2=Lena H.|date=24 May 2017 |title=Mechanical evidence that flamingos can support their body on one leg with little active muscular force |journal=Biology Letters |volume=13|issue=5|pages=20160948|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2016.0948|pmid=28539457|pmc=5454233}}</ref>

While walking, a flamingo's legs may appear to bend backwards. This appearance is due to the middle joint on their legs being their ankle, not their knee.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Caroline |title=Flamingo |publisher=Morrow Junior Books |others=Illustrated by Richard Hewett |year=1991 |isbn=9780688094119 |pages=11, 13, 22}}</ref> Flamingos also have webbed feet that aid with swimming and they may stamp their feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.<ref name=":03" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bildstein |first1=Keith L. |last2=Frederick |first2=Peter C. |last3=Spalding |first3=Marilyn G. |date=November 1991 |title=Feeding Patterns and Aggressive Behavior in Juvenile and Adult American Flamingos |journal=The Condor |volume=93 |issue=4 |pages=916–925 |doi=10.2307/3247726 |jstor=3247726}}</ref>

Flamingos are capable flyers, and flamingos in captivity often require [[wing clipping]] to prevent escape. A pair of African flamingos which had not yet had their wings clipped escaped from the [[Wichita, Kansas]], zoo in 2005. One was spotted in Texas 14 years later. It had been seen previously by birders in Texas, Wisconsin and Louisiana.<ref>[https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2018/02/23/flamingo-native-florida-again/364422002/ Fugitive flamingo spotted in Texas 14 years after escaping a Kansas zoo during storm], ''[[Wichita Eagle]]'', Kaitlyn Alanis, May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.</ref>

Young flamingos hatch with grayish-red plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and [[beta-carotene]] obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly colored, thus a more desirable mate; a white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. [[Captivity (animal)|Captive]] flamingos are a notable exception; even if adequately nourished, they may turn a pale pink if they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild.<ref>{{cite book |title=American Zoo: A Sociological Safari |first=David |last=Grazian |year=2015 |location=Princeton, NJ, US |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=35 |isbn=978-0-691-16435-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLpKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA35}}</ref>

The greater flamingo is the tallest of the six different species of flamingos, standing at {{convert|3.9|to|4.7|ft}} with a weight up to {{convert|7.7|lb}}, and the shortest flamingo species (the lesser) has a height of {{convert|2.6|ft|1}} and weighs {{convert|5.5|lb}}. Flamingos can have a wingspan as small as {{convert|37|in|cm}} to as big as {{convert|59|in|cm}}.<ref>Bradford, Alina. 2014. Flamingo Facts: Food Turns Feathers Pink. September 18. Accessed March 2018. https://www.livescience.com/27322-flamingos.html</ref>

Flamingos can open their bills by raising the upper jaw as well as by dropping the lower.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Jenkin |first1= Penelope M. |title= The filter-feeding and food of flamingoes (Pheonicopteri) |journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences |volume= 240 |issue= 674 |pages= 401–493 |date=1957-05-09 |doi= 10.1098/rstb.1957.0004 |bibcode= 1957RSPTB.240..401J |doi-access= free }}, page 409.</ref>

==Behavior and ecology==
===Feeding===
[[File:Caribbean Flamingo vocalization.webm|thumb|right|American flamingos vocalizing at the [[Stone Zoo]] in [[Stoneham, Massachusetts|Stoneham]], [[Massachusetts]], USA]]

Flamingos are omnivores who [[Filter feeder|filter-feed]] on [[brine shrimp]] and [[Cyanobacteria|blue-green algae]] as well as insect larvae, small insects, mollusks and crustaceans. Their bills are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae, which line the mandibles, and the large, rough-surfaced tongue. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from [[carotenoids]] in their diet of animal and plant [[plankton]]. American flamingos are a brighter red color because of the beta carotene availability in their food while the lesser flamingos are a paler pink due to ingesting a smaller amount of this pigment. These carotenoids are broken down into pigments by liver enzymes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=G. E. |last2=Montgomerie |first2=R. |last3=Inouye |first3=C. Y. |last4=Dale |first4=J. |s2cid=87349325 |title=Influence of Dietary Carotenoids on Plasma and Plumage Colour in the House Finch: Intra- and Intersexual Variation |date=June 1994 |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=343–350 |doi=10.2307/2389827 |jstor=2389827|bibcode=1994FuEco...8..343H }}</ref> The source of this varies by species, and affects the color saturation. Flamingos whose sole diet is blue-green algae are darker than those that get it second-hand by eating animals that have digested blue-green algae.<ref>{{cite web |title=NATURE: Fire Bird – Flamingo Facts |publisher=Pbs.org |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/firebird/html/facts.html |access-date=2013-03-30}}</ref>

Though flamingos prefer to drink freshwater, they are equipped with glands under their eyes that remove extra salt from their bodies. This organ allows them to drink saltwater as well.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Caroline |title=Flamingo |publisher=Morrow Junior Books |others=Illustrated by Richard Hewett |year=1991 |isbn=9780688094119 |pages=11, 13}}</ref>

===Vocalization sounds===
Flamingos are considered very noisy birds with their [[Bird vocalization|noises and vocalizations]] ranging from grunting or growling to nasal honking. Vocalizations play an important role in parent-chick recognition, ritualized displays, and keeping large flocks together. Variations in vocalizations exist in the voices of different species of flamingos.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/birds/heronsflamingosibisspoonbi/caribbeanflamingo |title=Caribbean Flamingo |work=Saint Louis Zoo |accessdate=2021-02-22 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/americanflamingo/behavior |title=American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology |publisher=San Diego Zoo Global |accessdate=2021-02-22 }}</ref>

===Life cycle===
Flamingos are very social birds; they live in colonies whose population can number in the thousands. These large colonies are believed to serve three purposes for the flamingos: avoiding predators, maximizing food intake, and using scarce suitable nesting sites more efficiently.<ref name=Picket1994>{{cite journal |last1=Pickett |first1=C. |last2=Stevens |first2=E. F. |year=1994 |title=Managing the Social Environments of Flamingos for Reproductive Success |journal=Zoo Biology |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=501–507 |doi=10.1002/zoo.1430130512}}</ref> Before breeding, flamingo colonies split into breeding groups of about 15 to 50 birds. Both males and females in these groups perform synchronized ritual displays.<ref name=Ogilvie1986>Ogilvie, Malcolm; Carol Ogilvie (1986). ''Flamingos''. Gloucester, UK: Alan Sutton Publishing Limited. {{ISBN|9780862992668}}. {{oclc|246861013}}.</ref> The members of a group stand together and display to each other by stretching their necks upwards, then uttering calls while head-flagging, and then flapping their wings.<ref name="Studer-Thiersch 1975">Studer-Thiersch, A. (1975). "Basle Zoo", pp. 121–130 in N. Duplaix-Hall and J. Kear, editors. ''Flamingos''. Berkhamsted, United Kingdom: T. & A. D. Poyser, {{ISBN|140813750X}}.</ref> The displays do not seem directed towards an individual, but occur randomly.<ref name="Studer-Thiersch 1975"/> These displays stimulate "synchronous nesting" (see below) and help pair up those birds that do not already have mates.<ref name=Ogilvie1986/>

Flamingos form strong [[pair bond]]s, although in larger colonies, flamingos sometimes change mates, presumably because more mates are available to choose.<ref name="Studer-Thiersch 2000">{{cite journal | last = Studer-Thiersch | first = A. | date = 2000 | title = What 19 Years of Observation on Captive Great Flamingos Suggests about Adaptations to Breeding under Irregular Conditions | journal = Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology | volume = 23 (Special Publication I: Conservation Biology of Flamingos) | pages = 150–159 | doi = 10.2307/1522160 | jstor = 1522160}}</ref> Flamingo pairs establish and defend nesting territories. They locate a suitable spot on the mudflat to build a nest (the female usually selects the place).<ref name="Studer-Thiersch 1975"/> Copulation usually occurs during nest building, which is sometimes interrupted by another flamingo pair trying to commandeer the nesting site for their use. Flamingos aggressively defend their nesting sites. Both the male and the female contribute to building the nest, and to protecting the nest and egg.<ref>{{cite book  |last1=Johnson |first1=Alan |last2=Cézilly |first2=Frank|year=1975 |title=The Greater Flamingo |pages=124–130 |publisher=T & AD Poyser Ltd. |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-3866-3}}</ref> Same-sex pairs have been reported.<ref name="Bag-Flamingo">{{cite book |last=Bagemihl |first=Bruce |year=1999 |title=Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity |url=https://archive.org/details/biologicalexuber00bage/page/524 |publisher=Stonewall Inn Editions |pages=[https://archive.org/details/biologicalexuber00bage/page/524 524–7] |isbn=978-0312253776 }}</ref>

After the chicks hatch, the only parental expense is feeding.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cézilly |first1=F. |last2=Johnson |first2=A. |last3=Tourenq |first3=C. |year=1994 |title=Variation in Parental Care with Offspring Age in the Greater Flamingo |url=http://sora.unm.edu/node/104905 |journal=The Condor |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=809–812 |doi=10.2307/1369487|jstor=1369487 }}</ref> Both the male and the female feed their chicks with a kind of [[crop milk]], produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract (not just the crop). The hormone [[prolactin]] stimulates production. Crop milk contains both fat and protein, as with mammalian milk, but unlike mammalian milk, it contains no carbohydrates.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ward |first1=Ann M. |author2=Amy Hunt |author3=Mike Maslanka |author4=Chris Brown |title=Nutrient Composition of American Flamingo Crop Milk |url=https://nagonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ward-Nutrient-Composition-Of-American-Flamingo-Crop-Milk.pdf}}</ref> ([[Columbidae|Pigeons and doves]] also produce crop milk, though just in the glands lining the crop, which contains less fat and more protein than flamingo crop milk.)<ref>{{cite book |title=The Birder's Handbook |first1=Paul |last1=Ehrlich |first2=David S. |last2=Dobkin |first3=Darryl |last3=Wheye |year=1988 |page=[https://archive.org/details/birdershandbookf00ehrl_0/page/271 271] |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-62133-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/birdershandbookf00ehrl_0|url-access=registration }}</ref>

For the first six days after the chicks hatch, the adults and chicks stay in the nesting sites. At around seven to 12 days old, the chicks begin to move out of their nests and explore their surroundings. When they are two weeks old, the chicks congregate in groups, called "microcrèches", and their parents leave them alone. After a while, the microcrèches merge into "crèches" containing thousands of chicks. Chicks that do not stay in their crèches are vulnerable to predators.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gaillo |first1=A. |last2=Johnson |first2=A. R. |last3=Gallo |first3=A. |year=1995 |title=Adult Aggressiveness and Crèching Behavior in the Greater Flamingo, ''Phoenicopterus ruber roseus'' |journal=Colonial Waterbirds |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=216–221 |doi=10.2307/1521484|jstor=1521484 }}</ref> When young flamingos are around three to three and a half months old, their flight feathers will finish growing in, allowing them to fly.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Caroline |title=Flamingo |publisher=Morrow Junior Books |others=Illustrated by Richard Hewett |year=1991 |isbn=9780688094119 |pages=11, 13, 22, 41}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Flamingo and offspring.jpg|American flamingo and offspring: The {{linktext|arcuate}} (curved) bill is adapted to bottom scooping.
File:Chilean Flamingo Feeding.jpg|Chilean flamingo feeding its young
File:Large number of flamingos at Lake Nakuru.jpg|Colony of lesser flamingos at [[Lake Nakuru]]
</gallery>

==Status and conservation==
{{See also|List of Phoenicopteriformes by population}}

===In captivity===
[[File:Pink Flamingos on the grass.jpg|thumb|Flamingos at Paradise Park, a zoo in Cornwall]]

The first flamingo hatched in a European zoo was a [[Chilean flamingo]] at [[Zoo Basel]] in Switzerland in 1958. Since then, over 389 flamingos have grown up in Basel and been distributed to other zoos around the globe.<ref>{{cite news |trans-title=Zolli celebrates 50 years of flamingo breeding and science |title=Zolli feiert 50 Jahre Flamingozucht und Flamingosforschung |language=de |newspaper=Basler Zeitung |date=13 August 2008 |url=http://bazonline.ch/basel/dossier/zoo-basel/Zolli-feiert-50-Jahre-Flamingozucht-und-Flamingosforschung/story/26419827 |access-date=21 March 2010}}</ref>

[[Greater (flamingo)|Greater]], an at least 83-year-old [[greater flamingo]], believed to be the oldest in the world, died at the [[Adelaide Zoo]] in [[Australia]] in January 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fedorowytsch |first=Tom |title=Flamingo believed to be world's oldest dies at Adelaide Zoo aged 83 |date=31 January 2014 |publisher=ABC Radio Australia |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-01-31/flamingo-believed-to-be-worlds-oldest-dies-at-adelaide-zoo-aged-83/1257422 |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref>

Zoos have used mirrors to improve flamingo breeding behaviour. The mirrors are thought to give the flamingos the impression that they are in a larger flock than they actually are.<ref>{{cite news |title=Colchester Zoo use mirrors to help flamingos to breed |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/essex/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8854000/8854531.stm |website=BBC |date=26 July 2010 |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref>

==Relationship with humans==

===Ancient Roman cuisine===
[[File:Pink flamingo prepared for cooking.jpg|thumb|Pink flamingo prepared for cooking ([[Bardo Museum]])]]
While many different kinds of birds were valued items in Roman food, flamingos were among the most prized in Ancient Roman cuisine. An early reference to their consumption, and especially of their tongues, is found in [[Pliny the Elder]], who states in the ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'':

{{blockquote|{{langx|la|phoenicopteri linguam praecipui saporis esse apicius docuit, nepotum omnium altissimus gurges}}

[Translated:] [[Apicius]], that very deepest whirlpool of all our [[epicure (gourmet)|epicures]], has informed us that the tongue of the phœnicopterus is of the most exquisite flavour.|source=''Natural History'', liber X, chapter 67<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+10.67&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138|title = Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, liber x, chapter 67}}</ref><ref>English (John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., 1855)</ref>}}

Although a few recipes for flamingos are found in Apicius' extant works, none refer specifically to flamingo tongues. The three flamingo recipes in the {{lang|la|De re coquinaria}} (''On the Subject of Cooking'') involve the whole creature:
* 220: roasted with an egg sauce, a recipe for [[common wood pigeon|wood pigeons]], squabs, fattened fowl; flamingo is an afterthought.
* 230: boiled; [[parrot]] may be substituted.
* 231: roasted with a must sauce.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/10*.html|title=LacusCurtius • Pliny the Elder's Natural History—Book 10}}</ref>

[[Suetonius]] mentions flamingo tongues in his ''Life of [[Vitellius]]'':<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0061%3Alife%3Dvit.%3Achapter%3D13%3Asection%3D2|title = C. Suetonius Tranquillus, Vitellius, chapter 13, section 2}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Most notorious of all was the dinner given by his brother to celebrate the emperor's arrival in [[Rome]], at which two thousand of the choicest fishes and seven thousand birds are said to have been served. He himself eclipsed even this at the dedication of a platter, which on account of its enormous size he called the "Shield of [[Minerva]], Defender of the City." In this he mingled the livers of pike, the brains of [[pheasants]] and [[peacocks]], the tongues of flamingoes and the [[milt]] of [[lampreys]], brought by his captains and [[triremes]] from the whole empire, from [[Parthia]] to the [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Strait of Gibraltar|strait]].|source=Suetonius, ''Life of Vitellius''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html|title = Suetonius • Life of Vitellius}}</ref>}}

[[Martial]], the poet, devoted an ironic [[epigram]], alluding to flamingo tongues:

{{blockquote|{{langx|la|Dat mihi penna rubens nomen; sed lingua gulosis

Nostra sapit: quid, si garrula lingua foret?}}

[Translated:] My red wing gives me my name; but it is my tongue that is considered savoury by epicures. What, if my tongue had been able to sing?|source=''Epigrammata'' 71, Book 13<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0506%3Abook%3D13%3Apoem%3D71|title = Martial, Epigrammata, book 13, LXXI Phoenicopteri}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book13.htm|title = Martial, Epigrams. Book 13. Mainly from Bohn's Classical Library (1897)}}</ref>}}

There is also a mention of flamingo brains in a later, highly contentious source, detailing, in the life of [[Elagabalus]], a food item not apparently to his liking as much as [[camels]]' heels and parrot tongues, in the belief that the latter was a [[prophylactic]]:

{{blockquote|In imitation of Apicius he frequently ate camels-heels and also cocks-combs taken from the living birds, and the tongues of peacocks and [[common nightingale|nightingales]], because he was told that one who ate them was immune from the plague. He served to the palace-attendants, moreover, huge platters heaped up with the [[viscera]] of [[Mullet (fish)|mullets]], and flamingo-brains, [[partridge]]-eggs, [[thrush (bird)|thrush]]-brains, and the heads of parrots, pheasants, and peacocks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Elagabalus/2*.html|title = Historia Augusta • Life of Elagabalus (Part 2 of 2)}}</ref>}}

===Other===
[[File:FlamingoMocheLMC.jpg|right|thumb|[[Moche (culture)|Moche]] ceramic depicting flamingo (200 AD). [[Larco Museum]], Lima, Peru]]
* In the Americas, the [[Moche (culture)|Moche]] people of ancient [[Peru]] worshipped nature.<ref>Benson, Elizabeth (1972). ''The Mochica: A Culture of Peru''. New York: Praeger Press.</ref> They placed emphasis on animals, and often depicted flamingos in their art.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berrin |first1=Katherine |author2=Larco Museum |title=The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera |location=New York |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1997 |isbn=978-0500018026}}</ref>
* The [[Ancient Egyptian deities|Ancient Egyptian god]] [[Set (deity)|Set]] is depicted with a flamingo head in the ''[[Book of the Faiyum]].''<ref>{{cite book |last=Beinlich |first=Horst |url=https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/2891/1/Beinlich_Faiyum_2013.pdf |title=The Book of the Faiyum |publisher=University of Heidelberg |year=2013 |pages=27–77, esp.38–39 |section=Figure&nbsp;7}}</ref>
* Flamingos are the [[national bird]] of [[the Bahamas]].
* [[Andean]] miners have killed flamingos for their fat, believing that it would cure [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Flamingos/fdeath.html |title=Flamingos |publisher=Seaworld.org |access-date=2013-03-30 |archive-date=10 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710184747/http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Flamingos/fdeath.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In the United States, pink [[plastic flamingo]]s are sometimes used as [[lawn ornament]]s.<ref name=CSM>{{cite web |first=Clayton |last=Collins |title=Backstory: Extinction of an American icon? |work=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |date=2 November 2006 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1102/p20s01-lihc.html |access-date=9 February 2010}}</ref> They were first designed by [[Don Featherstone (artist)|Don Featherstone]] in 1957.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Price |first=Jennifer |date=1999 |title=The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41213491 |journal=The American Scholar |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=5–6 |jstor=41213491 }}</ref> Their popularity was influenced in part by the prevalence of flamingo souvenirs in [[Florida]] along with the Flamingo grand hotel in [[Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach]], prompting the correlation of flamingos with style and wealth.<ref name=":0" />

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Phoenicopteridae}}
{{Commons|Phoenicopterus}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090413164043/http://www.flamingoresources.org/ Flamingo Resource Centre]
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/flamingos-phoenicopteridae Flamingo videos and photos] on the Internet Bird Collection

{{Birds}}
{{Flamingos|state=all}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q41994}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Flamingos| ]]
[[Category:Phoenicopteridae| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]