Flamingo Fossil range: Eocene - Recent
A Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), with Chilean Flamingos (P. The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in The Chilean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus chilensis) is a large species (110-130 cm closely related to Caribbean Flamingo and Greater Flamingo, with which it chilensis) in the background
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Phoenicopteriformes Fürbringer, 1888 Family: Phoenicopteridae Bonaparte, 1831 Genus: Phoenicopterus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text

Flamingos or flamingoes^[1] (pronunciation (help·info)) are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. Waders, called shorebirds in North America (where "wader" is used to refer to long-legged wading Birds such as Storks and A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic In Biological classification, family ( Latin They are found in both the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere, but are more numerous in the former. The Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies West Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the There are four species in the Americas while two exist in the Old World. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans Asians and Africans in the 15th century Two species, the Andean and the James's Flamingo, are often placed in the genus Phoenicoparrus instead of Phoenicopterus. The Andean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus andinus) is a Bird species in the Flamingo family restricted to the high Andes in S The James's Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus jamesi) also known as the Puna Flamingo, is a South American Flamingo, named for Harry Berkeley James UserPolbot. --> Phoenicoparrus is a genus of Bird in the Phoenicopteridae family

Systematics

Species

Evolution

Lesser Flamingos in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Andean Flamingos in the Laguna Colorada, Bolivia. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the Altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America.

The prehistory of the Phoenicopteriformes is far better researched than their systematic affinities (see below). An extinct family of peculiar "swimming flamingos", the Palaelodidae, was initially believed to be the ancestors of the Phoenicopteridae. Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family This is now rejected, as the fossil genus Elornis, apparently a true albeit primitive flamingo, is known from the Late Eocene, before any palaelodid flamingoes have been recorded. The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in A considerable number of little-known birds from the Late Cretaceous onwards are sometimes considered to be flamingo ancestors. The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of These include the genera Torotix, Scaniornis, Gallornis, Agnopterus, Tiliornis, Juncitarsus and Kashinia;^[2] these show a mix of characters and are fairly plesiomorphic in comparison to modern birds. Torotix is a Late Cretaceous Genus of Aquatic Bird. It lived along the shores of the Western Interior Seaway, but Scaniornis is a prehistoric Bird Genus. The only Species, Scaniornis lundgreni, lived in the MP 1-5 ( Early Paleocene Gallornis is a Genus of prehistoric Bird from the Cretaceous. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry There exists a fairly comprehensive fossil record of the genus Phoenicopterus. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family The systematics of prehistoric Phoenicopteriformes known only from fossils is as followed:

• Palaelodidae
  • Stout-legged Flamingo (Borgloon Early Oligocene of Hoogbutsel, Belgium)
  • Palaelodus (Middle Oligocene -? Middle Pleistocene)
  • Giant Flamingo (Late Oligocene - Early Pliocene)

• Phoenicopteridae
  • Elornis (Middle? Eocene - Early Oligocene) - includes Actiornis
  • Phoenicopteridae gen. Palaelodus is an extinct genus of Birds distantly related to Flamingos. Megapaloelodus is an Extinct Genus of Birds distantly related to Flamingos. Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family et sp. indet. (Camacho Middle? - Late Miocene? of San José, Uruguay) - see Ubilla et al. (1990)
  • Prehistoric species of Phoenicopterus:
    • Phoenicopterus croizeti (Middle Oligocene - Middle Miocene of C Europe)
    • Phoenicopterus floridanus (Early Pliocene of Florida)
    • Phoenicopterus stocki (Middle Pliocene of Rincón, Mexico)
    • Phoenicopterus copei (Late Pleistocene of W North America and C Mexico)
    • Phoenicopterus minutus (Late Pleistocene of California, USA)
    • Phoenicopterus aethiopicus

Relationships

The identity of the closest relatives of the flamingos is a rather contentious issue. Flamingos or flamingoes ( are gregarious Wading birds in the Genus Phoenicopterus and family Traditionally, the long-legged Ciconiiformes, probably a paraphyletic assemblage, have been considered the flamingos' closest relatives and the family was included in the order. Traditionally the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large long-legged wading birds with large bills Storks Herons Egrets In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all Usually the spoonbills and ibises of the Threskiornithidae were considered their closest relatives within this order. "Spoonbill" could also mean Northern Shoveler or Paddlefish. The ibises (pronounced /ˈaɪbɪsɪz/ are a group of long-legged wading Birds in the family Threskiornithidae. The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 Species of large terrestrial and wading Birds falling into two subfamilies the Ibises Nevertheless, relationships to the Anseriformes (waterfowl) were considered as well (Sibley et al. The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living Species of Birds in three extant families the Anhimidae (the screamers Anseranatidae 1969), especially as flamingos and waterfowl are parasitized by feather lice of the genus Anaticola (Johnson et al. Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. Bird louse refers to any Chewing louse ( Paraphyletic suborder Mallophaga which parasitizes Birds Recent reclassification has found that bird 2006).

Flamingos at Chester Zoo. Chester Zoo is a Zoological garden located in Cheshire in north west England.

To reflect the uncertainty about this matter, flamingos began to be placed in their own order later on. Other scientists proposed flamingos as waders most closely related to the stilts and avocets, Recurvirostridae. Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large Birds It includes about 350 Species and has members in all parts of the world For the journal of the Australasian Wader Studies Group, see Stilt Stilts are Waders in the same Bird family as the Recurvirostridae is a family of Birds in the Wader suborder Charadrii The peculiar presbyornithids were used to argue for a close relationship between flamingos, waterfowl, and waders (Feduccia 1976), but they are now known to be unequivocal waterfowl with a peculiarly derived morphology paralleling waders and flamingos. Presbyornithidae were a family of Waterbirds with an apparently global distribution that lived until the Earliest Oligocene, but are now Extinct The term morphology in Biology refers to the outward appearance ( Shape, Structure, Colour, Pattern) of an Organism

Flamingo and offspring.

In recent years, molecular and anatomical studies have yielded confusing results: Sibley & Monroe placed flamingos within their expanded (and certainly paraphyletic, as is now known) Ciconiiformes. On the other hand, since long it has been the grebes (Podicipedidae), rather than Ciconiiformes, ducks, or stilts, that were time and again indicated as the closest relatives of flamingos, and there is currently renewed interest in this hypothesis. Grebes are members of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds some of which visit the sea when migrating

In a 2004 study comparing DNA sequences of intron 7 of the β-fibrinogen gene (FGB-int7), the Neognathae (all living birds except the ratites and tinamous) excluding waterfowl and Galliformes were shown to be divided into two subgroups of uneven size. A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the Primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA Molecule Introns, derived from the term "intragenic regions" and also called intervening sequence (IVS are DNA regions in a Gene that are not translated into Fibrin (also called Factor Ia) is a Protein involved in the clotting of blood History See also History of genetics The existence of genes was first suggested by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884 who in the 1860s studied inheritance Neognaths ( Neognathae) are Birds within the Subclass Neornithes of the class Aves. A ratite is any of a diverse group of large Flightless birds of Gondwanan origin most of them now extinct The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of Bird, members of a South American Bird family of about 47 species in 9 genera See also UK Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust USA Ducks Unlimited Galliformes are an order of Birds containing turkeys, Grouse, Chickens Quails and Pheasants More than 250 The first and smaller one, Metaves, contains flamingos and grebes, alongside the hoatzin, pigeons, sandgrouse, the Caprimulgiformes, the Apodiformes, tropicbirds, mesites, sunbittern and kagu. The Hoatzin ( Opisthocomus hoazin) also known as the Hoactzin, Stinkbird, or Canje "Pheasant", is an unusual species Sandgrouse is also the name of the journal of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East - see Sandgrouse (journal The sandgrouse are a The Caprimulgiformes is an order of Birds that includes a number of Birds with global distribution (except Antarctica) Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic Seabirds There are three species in one Genus Phaethon The mesites ( Mesitornithidae) are a family of Birds of uncertain affinities The Sunbittern, Eurypyga helias is a Bittern -like Bird of tropical regions of the Americas, and the sole member of the family KAGU is a Classical music Radio station run by Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington. Interestingly, most of these groups have traditionally been difficult to place on the family tree of birds. According to this study, all other birds belong to the second subgroup of Neoaves, the Coronaves (Fain & Houde 2004).

Arcuate bill is well adapted to bottom scooping

But their molecular data was insufficient to resolve inter-Metaves relationships to satisfaction; the flamingo FGB-int7 sequence is apparently most similar to that of some species of nighthawks, strongly suggesting a case of convergent evolution on the molecular level. Nighthawks are Birds of the Nightjar family in the New World subfamily Chordeilinae. Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages The conclusions that one can draw from this study are twofold: first, that flamingos are Metaves (if that group is not based on molecular convergence, for which there are some indications), and second, that FBG-int7 is unsuitable to determine their relationships beyond that. Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages It is interesting to note, however, that among all the groups which have been proposed as sister taxa of the flamingos, only the grebes are Metaves. Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry The relationships of the flamingos still cannot be resolved with any certainty, but presently a close relationship with grebes appears somewhat more likely than other proposals. For this clade, the taxon Mirandornithes ("miraculous birds" due to their extreme divergence and apomorphies) has been proposed. A clade is a taxonomic group comprising a single Common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor A taxon (plural taxa) or taxonomic unit, is a name designating an organism or a group of Organisms In Biological nomenclature according to In summary, all this confusion serves to show that all lines of "evidence" - molecular, morphological, ecological and parasitological - are liable to yield erroneous "proof" and that no method can be considered generally superior. Any future attempt to finally resolve the flamingos' relationships, therefore, would have to employ total evidence to support it and carefully weigh the data against alternative proposals.

Physiology

Diet

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The flamingo's characteristic pink colouring is caused by the Beta carotene in their diet. Beta-carotene is an Organic compound - a Terpenoid, a red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits The source of this varies by species, but shrimp and blue-green algae are common sources; zoo-fed flamingos may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin, which is often also given to farmed salmon. Canthaxanthin is a Carotenoid pigment widely distributed in nature Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae. Flamingos produce a "milk" like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin (see Columbidae). It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed. ^[3]

Appearance

Caribbean Flamingos, many standing on one leg, in Lago de Oviedo, Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with

Flamingos frequently stand on one leg. The reason for this behavior is not fully known. One common theory is that tucking one leg beneath the body may conserve body heat,^[4] but this has not been proven. It is often suggested that this is done in part to keep the legs from getting wet, in addition to conserving energy. As well as standing in the water, flamingos may stamp their webbed feet in the mud to stir up food from the bottom.

Young flamingos hatch with grey plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly coloured and thus a more desirable mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either Domesticated Animals ( Livestock This is changing as more zoos begin to add prawns and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos. Structure of crustaceans As Arthropods crustaceans have a stiff Exoskeleton, which must be shed to allow the animal to grow ( Ecdysis or molting

Flamingo are feeding at Lake Nakuru, Kenya

Feeding

Flamingos produce a "milk" like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin (see Columbidae). Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in central Kenya and is protected by a small Lake Nakuru National The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Crop milk, also known as pigeon's milk, is a secretion from the lining of the crop of pigeons and doves with which the parents feed their young by Prolactin ( PRL) or Luteotropic hormone ( LTH) is a Peptide hormone primarily associated with Lactation. It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.

Conservation status

Moche Ceramic Depicting Flamingo. 200 A. D. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru. The Larco Museum (Museo Larco is located in the Pueblo Libre District in Lima, Peru.

Scientists have discovered that [flamingos] are dying by the thousands along the Rift Valley lakes of Kenya and Tanzania. A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic Rift or fault. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya However, they are baffled about the reason. Possible causes include avian cholera, botulism, metal pollution, pesticides or poisonous bacteria, say researchers. Botulism ( Latin, botulus, "sausage" is a rare but serious Paralytic illness caused by Botulin Toxin. A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have Also, fears for the future of the Lesser Flamingo — Phoeniconaias minor — have also been raised by plans to pipe water from one of their key breeding areas, the shores of Lake Natron. Lake Natron is a saline Lake located in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border in Africa 's Great Rift Valley. The lakes are crucial to the birds' breeding success because the flamingos feed off the blooms of cyanobacteria that thrive there. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of Bacteria that obtain their energy ^[5]

Most scientific attention has focused on the environmental changes to the lakes. Environmental science is the study of interactions among physical chemical and biological components of the environment. Water levels have lowered and concentrations of salt in the water have increased. This increases the risk of toxic bacteria growing there.

Culinary use

In Ancient Rome, flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Also, Andean miners have killed flamingos for their fat, believed to be a cure for tuberculosis. [1]

Other

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. The Moche civilization (alternately the Mochica culture Early Chimu Pre-Chimu Proto-Chimu etc Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. ^[6] They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted flamingos in their art. ^[7]

Gallery

Chilean flamingos at the Las Vegas Zoo

Caribbean flamingo at National Zoo Washington, DC. The Chilean Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus chilensis) is a large species (110-130 cm closely related to Caribbean Flamingo and Greater Flamingo, with which it The Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park, informally known as the Las Vegas Zoo, is a, nonprofit Zoological park and Botanical garden located in

Lesser Flamingos in flight

Footnotes

"The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo" - John Tenniel's illustration to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Alice is a Fictional character in the books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its Sequel Through the Looking-Glass, Sir John Tenniel (28 February 1820 &ndash 25 February 1914 was an English Illustrator. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865 is a novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known under the Pseudonym Lewis

References

• Fain, Matthew G. & Houde, Peter (2004): Parallel radiations in the primary clades of birds. Evolution 58(11): 2558-2573. Evolution, the International Journal of Organic Evolution, is a monthly Scientific journal that publishes significant new results of empirical doi:10.1554/04-235 PDF fulltext
• Feduccia, Alan (1976): Osteological evidence for shorebird affinities of the flamingos. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. Auk 93(3): 587-601. The Auk is a quarterly Journal and the official publication of the American Ornithologists' Union, having been continuously published by that body since PDF fulltext
• Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. The Helm Identification Guides are a series of books dealing with the identification of groups of Birds The series include two types of guide those whose ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
• Johnson, Kevin P. ; Kennedy, Martyn & McCracken, Kevin G. (2006): Reinterpreting the origins of flamingo lice: cospeciation or host-switching? Biol. Lett. 2: 275–278. Biology Letters ( is a journal covering a wide spectrum of the biological sciences published both in print and online doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0427 PDF fulltext
• Sibley, Charles G. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. ; Corbin, Kendall W. & Haavie, Joan H. (1969): The Relationships of the Flamingos as Indicated by the Egg-White Proteins and Hemoglobins. Condor 71(2): 155-179. This article is about the journal The Condor for information about the bird from which it takes it name see Condor. PDF fulltext
• Svensson, Lars; Zetterström, Dan; Mullarney, Killian & Grant, P. J. (1999): Collins bird guide. HarperCollins, London. HarperCollins is a Publishing company owned by News Corporation. ISBN 0-00-219728-6
• Ubilla, M. ; Perea, D. ; Tambussi, C. & Tonni, E. (1990): Primer registro fósil de Phoenicopteridae (Aves: Charadriiformes) para el Uruguay (Mio-Plioceno). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 62: 61-68.
• Pictures of Flamingos from Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia