Birds · Phoenicopteriformes · Phoenicopteridae

James's Flamingo

Phoenicoparrus jamesi

Near Threatened

It could become endangered in the near future if current threats go unchecked. See full glossary

The smallest of the South American flamingos. It is told from the other two Andean species by its red legs and by the scarlet colouring at the base of the neck and on the back. The rear third of the body is black, less marked than in the Andean flamingo. Its bill is short, thick and only slightly curved, orange-yellow with a very sharp black tip.

Weight

2 kg – 2.5 kg

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

Estimated population

154,000 birds according to the 2021 surveys

Herbivore Diurnal Colonial Near Threatened Bird

7countries 8parks5same family

Fun facts

It was thought extinct until a population was found in a remote part of the Andes in 1956.
The first known specimen was collected in 1886 near the Isluga volcano in Chile, and was described twice in the same year, under the same name, by different authors in Chile and in England.
Its name honours Harry Berkeley James, an Englishman who ran a nitrate mine in Chile and funded the expedition that collected it.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: The Puna ecoregion: salt flats, wet meadows, high-Andean bogs, watercourses and shallow brackish lagoons on desert plateaus above 3,500 m, in endorheic basins such as the Salar de Atacama. It prefers shallower water and higher altitudes than the other flamingos
Litter / clutch size: It breeds mainly in Bolivia. Seven stages are recognised in its breeding cycle

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; Birds of the World (Rivas et al. 2024, versión 2.0); Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile (RCE, 15.º proceso); Martínez y González 2017; eBird; Sclater 1886