South America's Chilean Flamingos

Chilean Flamingos are from South America, living in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and of course, Chile.

It's quite obvious at first glance that the birds in the above picture are Chilean Flamingos, and not one of their five cousins.  

You could possibly tell by their plumage or maybe their size, but those aren't the things that will immediately give away this species to the casual observer.  Those two things are their legs and their beaks.  

Take a close look.  Do you see a difference in these legs and beaks from those of other fllamingos?

If not, you soon will. Keep reading!

As an element in decor, the flamingo has come a long way since the pink plastic ornaments first popped up on American lawns in the late 1940's.  People are coming around to appreciate the beauty of the real thing, and considering them with other exotic birds for art and special little touches in their homes. This beautiful pink plumed exotic bird is finally beginning to take its place beside the heron and egret as an appreciated design theme.  

They are smaller than the Greater Flamingo, and have paler pink plumage than the Carribean (or American) flamingo, but it is the beak and legs that really set Phoenicopterus chilensis apart from the rest.

BEAKS

About half (or a little more) of their beak is turned sharply downward, and that part is black.  

LEGS

 They are the only one of the six worldwide species with gray legs, and pink or pinkish orange ankles.  Yes, ankles.  A flamingo's ankle is about  halfway up its leg!   

Their webbed feet are also pink. 

A Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) in the Tenerife zoo

It's worth exploring Zazzle if you are looking for something a little different.  Their lighting options include pendant lamps, night lights, and desk lamps.  The desk lamps might also be suitable for bedside lamps.

If you search for 'flamingo' within any of those three types, you'll probably find something to suit your personal style among the hundreds of resulting designs.  Shown below are examples of one of the pendant lights and a night light.

This interesting video shows zoo personnel escorting young flamingos to their new home.  They've reached an important milestone.  So far, they've been raised by humans, but now they're big enough to join the grown up birds. So, they're being escorted, on foot, to their new home.

You'll probably notice how pale looking their plumage is.  That's normal for these babies, who are only about eight months old.  Like other flamingo species, newly hatched babies are gray in color, and take two to three years to grow into their more colorful adult plumage.

UPSIDE DOWN DINNER

Like other species, they feed by moving their beaks upside down through shallow water, filtering out the water and mud, and keeping the good stuff, like algae, tiny fish and shrimp, and plant seeds. 

A EUROPEAN FIRST

The year was 1958, and it was a Chilean flamingo that was the first ever to hatch at a zoo in Europe.  The honors for that first went to Basel Zoological Garden in Basel, Switzerland.

THRIVING IN ZOOS

There are more Chilean Flamingos in captivity than any of the other species, though American (Caribbean) Flamingos are running a close second.

LONG LIVES

It's thought that some individuals can live as long as 50 years in the wild, though around 25 or 30 years is probably a more common life span for these beautiful birds.

NEAR THREATENED

 With an estimated population of only about 200,000 in the wild, they are considered "near threatened."  There are several reasons for their declining numbers, one of the most disturbing of which is "egg collection," mainly in Bolivia.  Apparently, some people there seem to think it's perfectly OK to eat the eggs of a bird that only lays one a year.  They aren't exactly chickens!