Greater flamingo

The greater flamingo is the largest and most widespread of all flamingos. It stands about 110 to 150 centimetres tall, with a very long neck, long thin legs and a bill that bends sharply downward. Its feathers are pale pinkish-white, with red patches on the wings and black flight feathers that show when it flies.

It lives in shallow salty lagoons, lakes and coastal mudflats across Africa, southern Asia, the Middle East and southern Europe. Large flocks gather in places such as Walvis Bay in Namibia. Its pink colour comes from the tiny food it eats. It can stand in water for hours, balanced on one leg, while it feeds.

How does a flamingo eat?

A flamingo feeds with its head upside down in the water. It filters tiny crustaceans, algae and other small food from the water through its curved bill, which works like a sieve.

Colourful natural pigments in this food give flamingo feathers their pink shade. Birds that eat less of it look paler. The bill is turned upside down so that the upper half acts as the scoop.

Where it lives

The greater flamingo breeds in southern Europe, including the Camargue in France, and in Africa and Asia. The most northern breeding spot is Lake Tengiz in Kazakhstan, near 50 degrees north, where thousands of pairs nest.

Some small groups also live far from their usual range. A feral flock that probably descended from zoo escapees breeds in western Germany. Flocks of thousands can gather at one shallow lake or lagoon, so the shoreline may look pink from far away.

On the globe

The globe places the greater flamingo in shallow lagoons such as Walvis Bay in Namibia. Look for the long legs and the bent bill.