James's Flamingo

James Flamingo ( Phoenicoparrus jamesi )

The James Flamingo ( Phoenicoparrus jamesi ) is a bird of the family of flamingos.

Features

The James flamingo has a pink head, the rear back and the neck are red speckled or striped. The wing margins are black, as well as the tip of the beak. The beak is yellow base, the skin around the eyes is dark red in the mating season. The legs are alternately striped gray and red. He is 70-80 inches long, 125-135 cm tall and 1.8-2.6 kilograms. He is after the Lesser Flamingo is the smallest flamingo species.

Lifestyle and dissemination

The flamingos live in salt lakes from 2,000 meters in southern Peru through Bolivia to northern Chile. Most animals migrate in winter down the mountains, some remain as well.

The animals feed exclusively on diatoms and crustaceans, which are abundant there in the salt lakes of the plateau. Filter this with the beak out of the water. In contrast to the Pink Flamingo they never dip the head while eating completely under water. Like all flamingos take the red dye of crayfish on in her plumage. In the mating season it is then quite pink. The animals have the Pink Flamingo similar courtship behavior.

System

The James flamingo was formerly placed in the genus Phoenicopterus. This measure is however considered obsolete, it is today one of the Andean flamingo in the genus Phoenicoparrus. The birds are different from the Chilean Flamingo and Greater Flamingo by the missing fourth toe and the more rounded beak.