Caribbean Flamingos
Caribbean Flamingos are the brightest coloured pink of all of the 5 flamingo species.
They live in large flocks and perform elaborate, synchronised mating displays. These dance routines include “head-flagging”, where the flamingos walk together, flashing their heads from left to right, as well as “wing salutes”, where they stand completely still, with their heads held high in the air whilst they flash open their wings.
Historically, our breeding attempts at the Zoo were not very successful because nests were often disturbed by other birds in the flock or by marauding Gulls, which would take un-guarded eggs
Chester Zoo’s innovative bird keepers came up with the unique technique of removing the eggs soon after they were laid and placing them in an incubator until just before they hatched. Parent birds were given a wooden “dummy” egg, which was fixed to the nest so it wouldn’t roll off. Once the chick started to hatch the egg was returned to its parents, who would then hatch it out and rear it successfully.
This is now normal practice for us at the Zoo and this technique has been adopted by many other flamingo keepers around the world.
You can see our Caribbean Flamingo flock adjacent to the Penguins and you can follow their breeding season antics by viewing our webcam pictures.
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Species Information
Where they live : The Caribbean and Galapagos, Central and South America.
Habitat: Saline lagoons, salt pans, mangroves and coastal areas.
Diet: Aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, molluscs, worms and insects and aquatic plants such as algae.
Weight: 2.1 – 4.1kg
Conservation status: IUCN Red List: Not Globally Threatened.
Threats: Drainage of suitable habitat and the creation of salt pans have had an impact on the population of this species. Habitat loss due to land reclamation for development and holiday resorts in some areas.