The American Flamingo, or Caribbean Flamingo, is closely related to the Greater Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo (41). Phoenicopterus ruber is the most prominently pink of the three species (41).
This large bird prefers to inhabit saline lagoons, mudflats, and shallow brackish coastal or inland lakes (41). It lays just one egg, often with many years between each lay (42). Both parents brood the young for a period of up to 6 years when they reach sexual maturity (41). The American Flamingo has a life expectancy of 40 years - one of the longest in birds (41).
Th colour of the American Flamingo is acquired through diet (42). The small crustaceans and algae that the flamingoes eat contain carotinoid and other natural pigments that are processed in the body and deposited in the growing feathers (42).
The call of Phoenicopterus ruber is a goose-like honking (41).
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