One of the birds I was really looking forward to seeing on our COVID-19 shortened trip was the Chilean Flamingo in Argentina. We had booked a hotel in El Calafate that was a ten minute walk from a lagoon that had them. I've seen greater and lesser flamingos in Africa, but all from a very long distance.
In our visit to the Bird Park in Igauzu Falls, Brazil we saw both Chilean flamingos and greater flamingos. The Chilean flamingo is readily distinguished by its gray legs and pink joints, as well as a bill that is more than half black.
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| Chilean flamingo and largely black bill. |
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| Gray legs with pink joints. |
The greater flamingo has legs that are entirely pink and a bill that is pink with a restricted black tip.
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| Greater flamingos. |
Conditions were not good for photography, so these were the best I got.
I was surprised by their color. I'm so used to pink flamingos. Is this their natural color, or is it seasonal, or are they not getting the right nutrients?
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