Lesser Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus minor, family: Phoenicopteridae)

lesser flamingo kruger national park birds The Lesser Flamingo (Latin name Phoenicopterus minor) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 97 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 606 also a picture of the Lesser Flamingo on page 576. The Lesser Flamingo belongs to the family of birds classified as Phoenicopteridae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Lesser Flamingo is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Lesser Flamingo in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Lesser Flamingo : see above distribution map.

Kruger Park Lesser FlamingoIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Lesser Flamingo is a bird about the size of a grey hornbill. The height of the Lesser Flamingo is about 49 cms and its weight is about 650 gms

The male and female Lesser Flamingo have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is pink.
  • Eye is orange.
  • Bill is crimson.
  • Throat is pink.
  • Back is pink.
  • Legs are red, pink.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Lesser Flamingo feeds on the ground mainly

Reptiles

Smaller animals

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Lesser Flamingo is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Phoenicopterus minor will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Lesser Flamingo is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 2

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Lesser Flamingo are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Lesser Flamingo in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... uNondwebu

Afrikaans ...Kleinflamink

German ... Zwergflamingo

Portuguese ... Flamingo-pequeno

French ... Flamant nain

Dutch ... Kleine Flamingo

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 97

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za