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A pink American flamingo standing in dark blue water.
Photo: JeffreyGammon, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

The brightest-colored flamingo, also called the Caribbean flamingo, that filter-feeds with its bill upside down.

🪿 Wading Birds
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About the American Flamingo

American flamingos live in Mexico, the Caribbean and the northernmost tip of South America. They feed with their bill held upside down in the water, and comb-like plates called lamellae filter out tiny food. Their pink, red and orange colors come from carotenoid pigments in their food, the same kind of pigments that make carrots orange. American flamingos are the most brightly colored kind.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Phoenicopterus ruber[1]
Size
Greater flamingos stand 3.9 to 4.7 feet (120 to 145 cm) tall.[1]
Weight
Greater flamingos weigh 4.6 to 9 pounds (2.1 to 4.1 kg).[1]
Lifespan
20 to 30 years in the wild. Up to 50 years in zoos.[1]
Diet
Filter feeder. Strains tiny food from the water.[1]
Where it lives
Mexico, the Caribbean and the northernmost tip of South America.[1]
Babies
Usually one egg, laid on a mud mound 12 to 24 inches high. Both parents feed the chick crop milk.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2020).[2]

Fun facts

  • A flamingo eats with its bill held upside down in the water.[1]
  • Flamingos get their color from carotenoid pigments in their food, like the pigments in carrots.[1]
  • American flamingos are the most brightly colored flamingos.[1]
  • Scientists still aren't sure why flamingos stand on one leg.[1]

Vocabulary

filter feeder
An animal that eats by straining tiny bits of food out of water.
lamellae
Thin, comb-like plates inside a flamingo's bill that strain food from water.
pigment
A natural substance that gives something its color.
crop milk
A liquid some birds make in their throat to feed their chicks.
subspecies
A group within a species that lives in a certain area and looks a little different from other groups.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Flamingo.” https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/flamingo (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Phoenicopterus ruber (American Flamingo).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22729706/138951737 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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