Chilean Flamingo
          
           Chilean Flamingo
          Phoenicopterus chilensis 
           
    
  
              Chilean Flamingo
          
           Chilean Flamingo
          Phoenicopterus chilensis 
           
    - 
        Class
 Aves
- 
        Order
 Phoenicopteriformes
- 
        Familly
 Phoenicopteridae
- 
                   105cm 105cm
- 
                   2.5kg 2.5kg
- 
                 30 days 30 days
- 
                 1 1
- 
                 50 years 50 years
- 
            Diet
 fish, small crustaceans, algae, protozo
- 
            Habitat
 brackish lakes
- 
          Range
 South America
- 
              Population in the wild
 En diminution
- 
                IUCN REDLIST status 
     
Flamingos are aquatic waders. They live beside lakes, marshes and coastal waters in colonies of several thousand. Using pile of muds reinforced with plant matter, stones, shells and feathers, they construct conical nests about 40cm high that look like little volcanos and protect chicks from water and excessive heat on the ground.
Males and females take it in turns to incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Thanks to a hormone called prolactin, parents produce and regurgitate a sort of ‘milk’ rich in fats and protein, which is bright red in colour because it contains red cells. Young Flamingos subsist on this milk for about 2 months, until their beaks have curved to allow them to feed themselves.

 
 
 
 
 
        