Greater Flamingos are omnivores and filter-feeders. Greater Flamingos that live outside the tropics often migrate to warmer climates for the winter months. The Greater Flamingo rarely inhabits areas of freshwater other than using freshwater inlets for bathing and drinking. Greater Flamingos are found in a variety of saltwater habitats including salt or alkaline lakes, estuaries, shallow coastal lagoons and mudflats. Greater Flamingos have peculiar shaped heads on long, lean, curved necks with a distinctive downward bend. Their long, downward bending bills are pink with a black tip and their long, thin legs are also pink. The flamingo’s plumage is pinkish/white in color, with red wing coverts and black primary and secondary flight feathers. The Greater Flamingo’s large size allows it to wade into deeper water than most other flamingos. The Greater Flamingo has a wingspan of between 1.4 and 1.7 metres (4.5 – 5.5 feet). The Greater Flamingo is the largest species of flamingo and stands around 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall in height and weighs between 2 – 4 kilograms (4.4 – 8.8 pounds). There are no subspecies of the Greater Flamingo. The closest relatives to the Greater Flamingo are the Chilean Flamingo, Caribbean Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. When flamingos flock together, they are referred to as a ‘colony’ or a ‘stand’. These famous pink birds can be found in warm, watery regions on many continents and also occur in Asia in the coastal regions of India and Pakistan, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and in Southern Europe. The Greater Flamingo is an easily identifiable, colorful wading bird and is often found flocking together with the Lesser Flamingo in the great salt lakes across Africa. Out of the six species of flamingo on our planet, the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most common and widespread member of the flamingo family.
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