Alternative name: Puna Flamingo
- Phoenicoparrus jamesi
Phoenicopterus jamesi
Identification
90–92 cm (35½-36¼ in)
- Pale pink overall plumage
- Bright carmine streaks on neck and back
- Black primaries and secondaries
- Red skin round the eye; red legs; yellow bill with a black tip.
Juveniles are grey.
Similar species
Andean Flamingo as adult has a more extensive black tip to the bill, and the shape of the bill also differ.
Distribution
It breeds on the high Andean plateaux of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species1. It is related to the Chilean Flamingo and the Andean Flamingo.
Habitat
High salt lakes, mostly above 3500 m.
Behaviour
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Diet
A specialist feeder, their diet consists almost entirely of diatoms.
Breeding
They nest in large colonies, (often mixing with Andean and Chilean Flamingo), on islands or islets or along shores of salt lakes. The cone-shaped nest is made of mud, without a top. The clutch contains a single egg. The chicks learn to swim quickly.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- del Hoyo, J., P. F. D. Boesman, and E.F.J. Garcia (2020). James's Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.jamfla1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) James's Flamingo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/James%27s_Flamingo
