Bird Guide

American Flamingo vs Greater Flamingo

American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Huge3.0 kgCoastal

The American flamingo is a large wading bird with reddish-pink plumage. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound, between May and August; incubation until hatching takes from 28 to 32 days; both parents brood their young. They may reach sexual maturity between 3 and 6 years of age, though usually they do not reproduce until they are 6 years old. Their life expectancy of 40 years is one of the longest in birds. Adult American flamingos are smaller on average than greater flamingos, but are the largest flamingos in the Americas.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the American Flamingo
Recorded by Justin Watts · Call · Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Wilfredor · CC0
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Huge3.0 kgWetland

The greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, averaging 110–150 cm (43–59 in) tall and weighing 2–4 kg (4.4–8.8 lb). 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. Chicks are covered in grey fluffy down. Subadult flamingos are paler with dark legs. Adults feeding chicks also become paler, but retain the bright pink legs.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Greater Flamingo
Recorded by Grégoire Chauvot · Flight call · Arrondissement d'Arles (near Arles), Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France · CC0
Photo: Arpingstone · Public domain

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: American Flamingo and Greater Flamingo.