Family: Phoenicopteridae, Flamingos view all from this family

Description 48" (1.2 m). W. 4'7" (1.4 m). Unmistakable. A tall, long-legged, long-necked pink bird with a short, down-curved bill. Wings have black tips and trailing edges.

Habitat Shallow coastal lagoons and mudflats.

Nesting 1 white egg on a low mound of mud on a mudflat. Nests in dense colonies.

Range Resident in Bahamas, West Indies, Yucatan, northern South America, and Galapagos Islands. A casual visitor to U.S. coast from Carolinas to Texas.

Voice Goose-like honking and cackling notes.

Discussion This species was formerly more numerous and probably bred at one time along the coast of Florida. Flamingos are extremely sensitive to disturbance and today nest only in a few very isolated localities. The birds use their curiously shaped bills to strain small animals from the mud. Flamingo-like birds, known today only as fossils, lived in western North America 50 million years ago.