Species profile
Phoenicopterus ruber
American flamingo
LC · Least Concern — Least Concern — low risk, widespread and abundant
About this species
American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is part of the curated SpeciesWatch catalogue and is classified as Least Concern. Flamingos are born grey — their pink comes from carotenoid pigments in the shrimp and algae they filter, and fades if the diet changes. Its recorded population direction is stable, although that summary can combine local populations following different trajectories.
Habitat, behaviour and ecological role
This profile associates the species with wetland, coastal. These labels summarise environments used during different stages of its life rather than drawing an exact range boundary. They feed upside-down, pumping water through comb-like plates in the beak, and both parents produce a nutrient-rich milk in their throats to feed chicks. Its anatomy and behaviour are responses to those environments, while movement can connect distant places requiring different forms of management.
Why this species is at risk
Flamingos often stand on one leg to conserve body heat, and like other birds they can rest half their brain at a time. The catalogue records 3 principal pressures for this profile: Habitat degradation, Hurricanes, Tourism pressure. They should not be treated as isolated causes. Habitat change, exploitation, pollution, disease and climate stress can reinforce one another, while the importance of each pressure varies between regions and through time.
Conservation outlook
Protecting and reconnecting habitat is a priority, together with infrastructure planning that keeps feeding, breeding or migration routes functional. Climate monitoring and protection of ecological refuges are needed because reducing other pressures improves the capacity to adapt. Actions need long-term monitoring and revision as evidence changes; a positive intervention in one place does not by itself represent recovery across the species.
Editorial review: 2026-08-21
Threat factors
Known occurrences
Dots are georeferenced occurrence records from OBIS (marine) and GBIF (global), not individual animals and not a complete range map. Up to 500 recent API results are cached; the profile renders at most 500 points.
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Listen to this species
Puerto Villamil, Isabela, Islas Galápagos · 0:49 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/