WORLD'S MOST WIDESPREAD FLAMINGO

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southwest Asia (including Turkey), southern Asia (coastal regions of India) and southern Europe (including Spain, Sardinia, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants. Greater flamingo is the state bird of Gujarat, India.

This is a large species, averaging 120-140cm tall. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking. Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000–1,000,000 km². According to IUCN, the global population size has not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population size criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., less than 10,000 mature individuals).