A Lesser Flamingo is a pink to purplish water bird that is very similar in size and shape to its larger cousin, the Greater Flamingo. The Lesser Flamingo has a slightly curved neck with a yellow patch on its rump.
It is found in parts of Africa and southern Europe. There are smaller populations of this species in central asia and northern India.
Their habitat varies from lakes, lagoons, salt ponds and mud flats. They build nests close together on islands called flamingo colonies.
They eat brine shrimps which they catch by filtering them from the water using their beaks which have been specially adapted for the purpose as flamingos do not have teeth. Filter feeding helps keep the lesser flamingo's nose nice and pink.
The Lesser Flamingo is the only flamingo that breeds in Europe, with colonies found in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain.
It prefers to breed on alkaline lakes or saline ponds which have a good food supply. The female lays a single egg but both parents incubate it for between 22 – 26 days. The chicks can fly after 40 – 50 days and the parents live together as a family group for 3 years before they become sexually mature at 5-6 years old.
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