Phoenicoparrus

Phoenicoparrus
Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Phoenicopteriformes
Family:	Phoenicopteridae
Genus:	Phoenicoparrus Bonaparte, 1856
Type species
Phoenicopterus andinus Philippi, 1854
Synonyms
Phoeniconaias

Phoenicoparrus is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. First established by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856, it contains two species.

Evolution

Phoenicoparrus (andinus) head sketch from 1869

While it is hard to track where the Phoenicoparrus originally came from, there is evidence that it originated in the New World where it split from the other lesser group and into its own genus. The base of the genus is hypothesized to have started with the Andean species. The Phoenicoparrus split from the group around 2.56 million years ago and its two comprising species later split from 0.5-2.5 million years ago. The Phoenicoparrus is identified from the rest of its evolutionary group because it is a part of the deep-keeled group, however it is its own genus because both Andean and Jame's lack a hind toe.

Diet and Habitat

Phoenicoparrus chicks are fed filtered secretions for the first 4-7 weeks from their parents. The parents are able to filter sediments from the saline concentrated lakes in the wetlands they tend to habit. Chicks tend to have a higher amount of arsenic and iron in their bodies, too much of these concentrations can be dangerous. Adults, particularly females, have lower amounts of iron in their body because they shells they produce for the chicks have high iron concentration. Phoenicoparrus are said to eat diatoms and vegetation such as algae because of the deep-keel of their beaks suited for filtration. Both species feed their chicks through crop halocrine secretions that contain a larger amount of lipids than proteins, and it contains some amount of carbohydrates. While both species do not get sucrose in their diets from their parents when they are younger, a lack of sucrose in the body can sometimes be fatal. These species can be found in habitats in southern South America, such as northern Chile.

Behavior

Phoenicoparrus spends a majority of its time feeding, but it also spends time moving around, breeding, and cleaning itself. The flamingos are nomadic and tend to choose their habitat based on abundance of food and the waters characteristics. Some water characteristics that attracted Phoenicoparrus jamesi were a higher pH, abundance of cyanobacteria and diatoms, and a medium temperature. On the other hand, Phoenicoparrus andinus prefers shallow water and does not seem to have other preferences. Phoenicoparrus presence and behavior can be affected by human activity such as pollution, mining, illegal hunting, and the collection of eggs. These activities lead to the birds leaving the area or even leaving their nests. The flamingos are also affected by the surface area of the water. The flamingos are present more when the water is high than when the water is low. While Andean and Jame's flamingos comprise the genus Phoenicoparus, both species tend to build nests away from the other respective species. Both species spend the largest amount of their time preening and resting.

Conservation

Phoenicoparrus jamesi is currently considered near threatened while Phoenicoparrus andinus is considered vulnerable. Some techniques that work for protecting the Andean and James's flamingos is to stop poaching, protect their habitat, and educating the public and conserving the flamingos.

Genus Phoenicoparrus – Bonaparte, 1856 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Andean flamingo	Phoenicoparrus andinus (Philippi, 1854)	southern Peru to northwestern Argentina and northern Chile	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU
James's flamingo	Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater, PL, 1886)	Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT