2022 January Bird

The featured bird for January is the American Flamingo aka Pink Flamingo.

The American Flamingo is a large wading bird with reddish-pink plumage.

Family: Phoenicopteridae
Species: Phoenicopterus ruber
Length: 36 – 50 inches
Wingspan: 60 inches (average)
Weight: 7.8 pounds (average)
Non-migratory

Even though the American Flamingo is a great swimmer, it’s mostly seen wading in mud and shallow water with its bill submerged as it filters out plankton, algae and tiny fish from the mud and water.

The American Flamingo lives in the wild around the Caribbean, as far west as the Galapagos Islands, as far south as Colombia and Northern Brazil, and as far north as Southern Florida (mainly in the Everglades) and Texas! Some have considered the American Flamingo extinct in Florida, and those seen in the wild are offspring from zoo escapees or Mexican expats. However, other scientists disagree and assure us the American Flamingos numbers are coming back naturally in Southern Florida.

The American Flamingo is an excellent swimmer.

Photographed at Sunken Garden in St. Petersburg, Florida.