Lesser Flamingo

The little flamingos are hardly a meter tall, with neck and legs making up most of their height, and at just under 2 kilograms they are real lightweights.
Their habitat is very specific. They live in shallow salt and soda lakes and, due to fluctuating prey populations, have developed a nomadic behaviour.

Living conditions and the origin of the pink colour

The adaptation of the lesser flamingo is so specific that these animals did not have to change much in evolutionary terms, as they adapted to these special living conditions very early on. The most important adaptation is the long bare legs, which can withstand the corrosive water and keep the animals high above the brine. The body shape also shows a difference. It is duck-like and therefore well suited for swimming. In fact, the lesser flamingo swims more often than its larger relatives. The special shape of the feet also shows the specialisation in its habitat. They make it easier for the lesser flamingos to walk on shallow and muddy ground. The flamingos get their pink colour from eating prey that contains carotene, which causes the pink colouring of the plumage. Without this carotene-rich food, the lesser flamingos would be white.

Social behaviour

The lesser flamingo, like all other flamingo species e.g. the greater flamingo, is a very sociable animal. Breeding colonies of more than 1 million animals have been observed. Lesser flamingos live monogamously. This means that pairs that find each other stay together for many years. They build nests out of mud that are about 40 cm high and have a flat brooding hollow on top. The pairs jointly incubate one egg, from which a young bird hatches after 27-31 days. Although the existing populations are large, this species is considered potentially endangered due to its high degree of specialisation. A sudden change in environmental conditions could endanger today's populations, as rapid adaptation is not possible.