American Flamingo vs Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber compared with Phoenicopterus roseus

Key Differences

• American Flamingo is Least Concern while Greater Flamingo is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Flamingo	Greater Flamingo
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Phoenicopteriformes (Flamingos)	Phoenicopteriformes (Flamingos)
Family same	Phoenicopteridae (Flamingos)	Phoenicopteridae (Flamingos)
Genus same	Phoenicopterus (Flamingos)	Phoenicopterus (Flamingos)
Species	Phoenicopterus ruber	Phoenicopterus roseus

Evolutionary Relationship

American Flamingo and Greater Flamingo share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Phoenicopterus. (Flamingos)

Conservation Status

American Flamingo

LC — Least Concern

Greater Flamingo

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~680.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Flamingo	Greater Flamingo
Diet	—	Omnivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	1.3 m
Average Weight	—	3.5 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Flamingo

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (10 countries) and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Greater Flamingo

Habitat

Typically found in a wide range of habitat types.

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries).

American Flamingo

The most vibrantly colored flamingo species, American flamingos display brilliant scarlet-pink plumage from the carotenoid pigments in their crustacean diet. Found in Caribbean coastal lagoons, salt pans, and mangrove swamps from the Bahamas and Florida through Central America and the Galapagos. Highly gregarious, they nest in huge colonies on mudflat mounds. Their distinctive deep pink color is used to signal health and reproductive quality to potential mates.

Greater Flamingo

The most widespread flamingo species, greater flamingos reach 1.2 meters in height and inhabit saline and alkaline lakes across Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Their distinctive pink coloration derives from carotenoid pigments in the algae and crustaceans they filter-feed through specialized bent bills. They breed in dense colonies numbering tens of thousands on hypersaline lakes toxic to most other species. Listed as Least Concern with stable populations.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 7 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom