42) GREATER FLAMINGO (Phoenicopterus roseus)

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

42) Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) #flamingo #birds

My main purpose for visiting Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary near Ahmedabad in Gujarat twice was to see flamingos. 

I visited Nalsarovar during December 2010 and May 2011. As the flamingos prefer shallow water, I could not see any flamingos as the water level was very high in Nalsarovar during my December 2010 visit. 

Greater Flamingo  Thol March 2011

At  Thol bird sanctuary too, I saw few greater flamingos at a distance during March 2011.

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

One can observe flamingos at the Nalsarovar bird sanctuary, Khijadiya bird sanctuary, Thol bird sanctuary and Flamingo city in the State of Gujarat and some other coastal regions in India generally during winter. It resides in mudflats and shallow saltwater coastal lagoons.

Greater Flamingo N.s 05/11

The Greater Flamingo is the largest species of flamingos. Most of its plumage is pinkish-white, the wing coverts are red, primary and secondary flight feathers are black, the bill is pink with a restricted black tip, the legs are entirely pink. 

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

It has pink skin from the eye to the beak and eyes are yellow coloured.

Greater Flamingo  N.s 05/11

The carotenoid pigments in the organisms that it feeds on gives it the pink colour.

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

It feeds by stirring up the soil under the water with its feet , sucks and filters out water through its bill to trap small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms and molluscs by keeping the head down in the water.

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

The flamingos are an interesting bird to watch when it is feeding, wading through the water in a group as well as while flying.

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

I heard that it flies at night covering long distances.

In  my listing of birds that I have seen and photographed, the Greater Flamingo is at 42nd place.

Greater Flamingo  Nalsarovar May 2011

Reference:

1) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp.
2) Birds of South Asia, The Ripley guide by Pamela C. Rasmussen and John C Anderton.

Greater Flamingo  Thol March 2011

3) The Book of Indian Birds by Salim Ali.

4) A Pictorial Field Guide to Birds of India by Bikram Grewal, Sumit Sen, Sarwandeep Singh, Nikhil Devasar and Garima Bhatia.
5) The Wikipedia.