The Lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. It is the smallest of all flamingos but has the largest number of population.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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AlgivoreAn algivore is a common name for many bottom-dwelling or algae-eating species that feed on algae.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PlanktivoreA planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are usually photosynthet...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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Wading birdsWading birds forage along shorelines and mudflats searching for small aquatic prey crawling or burrowing in the mud and sand. These birds live in w...
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Soaring birdsSoaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Serial monogamySerial monogamy is a mating system in which a pair bonds only for one breeding season.
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withLesser flamingos have a bill of deep red, tipped with black. The wings are narrow and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black, and their wing coverts are red. They possess the "hallux" or hind toe that some other flamingos do not have. Their eyes are orange to yellow, surrounded by a ring of maroon. Their deep bill is specially adapted for filtering tiny food items. Males are a little taller than females. The feathers of juveniles are brown and they have a dark gray beak.
Lesser flamingos inhabit coastal and inland wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa and India. They breed on large alkaline and saline lakes, salt pans, and coastal lagoon.
Lesser flamingos do not migrate and they live in big colonies with sometimes more than 1 million birds. They are mostly active at night. They fly between water bodies in large, V-shaped formations when food sources have become depleted. Even when food is plentiful, flocks may sometimes fly between water sources during the day. Lesser flamingos have no sense of smell and not much sense of taste. Eyesight is important for group activities. They flash their wing's back feathers to communicate. Hearing also plays an important role in communication both between adults and for chicks and parents. The adults are able to identify their offspring through its sounds. These birds often form subgroups within larger groups.
Lesser flamingos are herbivores. They mostly eat blue-green algae but occasionally will take crustaceans and small insects.
Lesser flamingos are serially monogamous, meaning they form pairs that remain together while they are raising the young. They breed in colonies that number thousands of birds. The mating season usually starting in the last quarter, from October to December. Both parents build a nest of mud as high as 30 cm to keep it cool and protect it from flooding. The female lays one egg, and incubation lasts about 28 days, carried out in 24-hour shifts by both parents. After the chick hatches it is fed "crop milk", a substance that comes from the adult bird's upper digestive tract. Chicks must learn to recognize the call of their parents. At 6 days old, chicks join a crèche with thousands of other chicks. It learns to run at the age of one week, grows feathers at four weeks old, and learns to fly when 12 weeks old.
People collect flamingo eggs and expand into their habitat by farming, urban development, and road construction. Major threats for Lesser flamingos are land-claim, human disturbance, and water pollution from heavy metals and pesticides. Lesser flamingos breed on a very low number of breeding sites so any industrial or agriculture activity even somewhere near may dramatically impact the whole population.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total estimate for the Lesser flamingo population is about 2.2-3.3 million birds, including estimates for specific regions: 15,000-25,000 individuals in West Africa; 1,500,000-2,500,000 flamingos in East Africa; 55,000-65,000 flamingos in South Africa and Madagascar, and 650,000 flamingos in south Asia. Lesser flamingos’ numbers are decreasing today and they are classified as near threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...