Flamingo, common name for members of a family of birds having exceptionally long legs and long, highly flexible necks. Their bills bend abruptly downward about midway; the upper mandible is narrow, and fits into the lower like the lid of a box. When they feed, flamingos dip the head under water and scoop backward with the head upside down. The edges of the bill have tiny narrow transverse plates called lamellae. The large fleshy tongue pressing against the inside of the bill strains the water out through the lamellae, leaving behind the small invertebrates and the vegetable matter upon which the bird feeds.

The largest species are the greater flamingo and the American or Caribbean flamingo. The greater flamingo is paler in color and inhabits Eurasia, from the Mediterranean area east to India; and parts of Africa. The American or Caribbean flamingo is vivid red in color and breeds in the Caribbean area, from Yucatán and the West Indies to the coast of northeastern South America. It breeds well in captivity, and the occasional flamingo seen north of Florida probably escaped from a zoo. Males of both species may reach 155 cm (61 in) in height.

These large flamingos breed in standing water or on low islands in shallow ponds, salt pans, and lagoons, building a conical mound of mud topped by a slight depression in which the one egg (rarely two) is laid. The young are fed on regurgitated food for as long as 75 days, although they can feed for themselves after about 30 days.

The Chilean flamingo is slightly smaller than the greater flamingo. It is pale pink, with bright red streaks on the back. It nests in high salt lakes in the Andes, and also in the lowlands of extreme southern South America. Two small species, the Andean flamingo and James’s, or Puna, flamingo, also live in the Andes. The smallest and most abundant species is the lesser flamingo, which is found from Africa east to India.

Scientific classification: Flamingos make up the family Phoenicopteridae. The greater flamingo is classified as Phoenicopterus roseus and the American or Caribbean flamingo is classified as Phoenicopterus ruber. The common name greater flamingo has also included both these forms when they are treated as subspecies of Phoenicopterus ruber, with the paler form designated as the subspecies Phoenicopterus ruber roseus and the vivid red form as the subspecies Phoenicopterus ruber ruber. The Chilean flamingo is classified as Phoenicopterus chilensis, the Andean flamingo as Phoenicopterus andinus, James’s flamingo as Phoenicopterus jamesi, and the lesser flamingo as Phoenicopterus minor.