Phoenicopterus ruber
| American flamingo | |
|---|---|
.JPG) |
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| Galapagos Islands | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Phoenicopteriformes |
| Family: | Phoenicopteridae |
| Genus: | Phoenicopterus |
| Species: | P. ruber |
| Binomial name | |
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Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 |
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The American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that treatment is now widely viewed (e.g. by the American and British Ornithologists' Unions) as incorrect due to a lack of evidence. It is also known as the Caribbean flamingo although it is present in the Galápagos Islands. In Cuba it is also known as the greater flamingo. It is the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America.
The American flamingo breeds in the Galápagos, coastal Colombia, Venezuela and nearby islands, Trinidad and Tobago, along the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, Hispaniola, The Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The population in Galapagos differs genetically from that in the Caribbean, and the Galapagos flamingos are statistically smaller, exhibit differences in body shape sexual dimorphism, and lay smaller eggs. The American flamingo was also found in southern Florida, but since the arrival of Europeans it has been all but eradicated there, sightings today are usually considered to be escapees, although at least one bird banded as a chick in the Yucatán Peninsula has been sighted in Everglades National Park, and others may be vagrant birds from Cuba. Large flocks of flamingos are still known to visit Florida from time to time, most notably in 2014, when a very large flock of over 147 flamingos temporarily stayed at Stormwater Treatment Area 2, on Lake Okeechobee, with a few returning the following year. It is however unknown if these flamingos are actually wild flamingos from elsewhere, or are simply escapees from the captive population at Hialeah Park. From a distance, untrained eyes can also confuse it with the roseate spoonbill.
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Wikipedia