James's flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi''), also known as the puna flamingo, is a species of

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

that lives at high altitudes in the

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

plateaus of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and northwest

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is named for Harry Berkeley James, a British naturalist who studied the bird. James's flamingo is closely related to the

Andean flamingo The Andean flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus andinus'') is a species of flamingo native to the Andes mountains of South America. Until 2014, it was classified in genus ''Phoenicopterus''. It is closely related to James's flamingo, and the two make up th ...

, and the two species are the only members of the genus ''Phoenicoparrus''. The

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...

, Andean flamingo, and James's flamingo are all

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

, and all live in

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

(including shared nesting areas).Mascitti, V. and Kravetz, F.O., "Bill Morphology of South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 104(1), 73. James's flamingo had been thought to be

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

until a population was discovered in a remote area in 1956.Johnson, A.W., Behn, F., and Millie, W.R. "The South American Flamingos". ''The Condor''. 60(5), 289-99

Description

The James's flamingo is smaller than the Andean flamingo, and is about the same size as the Old World species, the

lesser flamingo The lesser flamingo (''Phoeniconaias minor'') is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Birds are occasionally reported from further north, but these are generally considered vagrants. Characteristics The lesse ...

. A specimen of the bird was first collected by Charles Rahmer, who was on a collecting expedition sponsored by Harry Berkeley James, (1846–1892, a manager of a Chilean

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

mine born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, England) after whom the bird was named. It typically measures about long and weighs about . James's flamingos have a very long neck made up of 19 long

cervical vertebrae In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In saurop ...

, allowing for a large range of movement and rotation of the head. They are also distinctive for their long, thin legs. The knee is not externally visible: it is located at the top of the leg. The joint at the middle of the leg, which may be mistaken for the knee joint, is actually the ankle joint. Its

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

is very pale pink, with bright

carmine Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the Cochineal, cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson Lake pigment, lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium coordination complex, compl ...

streaks around the neck and on the back. When it is perched, a small amount of black can be seen in its wings; these are the "flight feathers". They have bright red skin around their eyes, which in adults are yellow. Their legs are brick red and their bills are bright yellow with a black tip. The James's flamingo is similar to most of the

species in South America, but the Chilean flamingo is pinker, with a longer bill (which is not yellow), and the Andean flamingo is larger, with more black in the wings and bill, and with yellow legs. The easiest way to distinguish James's flamingos is by their lighter-colored feathers and the bright yellow on their bills. A good method to distinguish the two ''Phoenicoparrus'' flamingo species from other flamingo species is to look at their feet. The two ''Phoenicoparrus'' species have three toes but no

hallux Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

. The feet of the other three species of flamingos have three forward-facing

toe Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

s and a

Feathers

Newly hatched flamingos are gray or white. Their feathers acquire a pink color by the time they are around 2 or 3 years old, due to their carotene-rich

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

. The chemicals that color their

feathers Feathers are epidermis (zoology), epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both Bird, avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in ...

are the terpenoids: alpha- and beta-carotenes (similar to carotene in carrots). An adult has 12 major feathers designed for flight on each

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

. The body is covered in

contour feathers The pennaceous feather is a type of feather present in most modern birds and in some other species of maniraptoriform dinosaurs. Description A pennaceous feather has a stalk or quill. Its basal part, called a ''calamus'', is embedded in the ski ...

, which protect the bird and also help with waterproofing (due to a secretion of oil at the base of the feathers). When the birds are roosting, they face into the wind so that the rain will not blow upwards and soak the underside of their feathers. Their plumage is pale pink, with bright carmine streaks around their necks and on their backs. When they are perching, a small amount of black can be seen in the wings; these are the

flight feather Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tai ...

s mentioned above. There are typically 12 to 16 tail feathers. James's flamingos

molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

their wing- and body feathers according to their

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

schedule and the color of the new feathers depends on the nature of their diet. There is no difference in color between males and females.

Flight

All flamingo species are capable of flying. The flight feathers are easily distinguished in James's flamingos as they are the only black feathers on the bird. To begin flying, they run a few steps and then begin to flap their wings. When they want to land, they repeat this process in reverse, and as they touch down to a surface, they continue to run as they decelerate and stop flapping their wings. When migrating in a flock, flamingos have been observed to fly at speeds of up to . But they may not reach this speed when traveling shorter distances.

Ecology

Feeding

Both James's and Andean flamingos feed their chicks through an esophageal

secretion Secretion is the movement of material from one point to another, such as a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast, excretion is the removal of certain substances or waste products from a cell or organism. The classical mec ...

that is regurgitated from the

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

of the

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

. The difference between the two species lies in the composition of the

prolactin Prolactin (PRL), also known as lactotropin and mammotropin, is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various vertebrates, including humans. Prolactin is secr ...

secretion produced by each bird. Both male and female parents are able to feed the chick. Adult flamingos are the most developed

filter feeder Filter feeders are aquatic animals that acquire nutrients by feeding on organic matters, food particles or smaller organisms (bacteria, microalgae and zooplanktons) suspended in water, typically by having the water pass over or through a s ...

s of the birds. Of the species, James's flamingo has the finest filter-feeding apparatus. The flamingo feeds on

diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...

s and other

microscopic The microscopic scale () is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale betwe ...

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

. The shape of the bill is deeply keeled. To feed, the flamingos' long legs allow them to walk into the water and swoop their necks down into an S-shape to allow the beak to enter the water. The S-shape is effective because it allows the head to be placed upright and the bottom of the bill to be placed as shallow or as deep as it pleases. Only lowering the

distal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

end of the bill into the water allows

nostril A nostril (or naris , : nares ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates ...

s to remain above water. The water filled with small organisms floods the bill and filtration process begins. The lakes, from which the flamingo typically feeds, are Andean lakes which are mostly

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

, but if salt water is encountered, the flamingos have salt glands in their nostrils where excess

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

is secreted. The filtering process starts with the

tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

, which is very soft and fleshy with channel-like features that direct the food and water to the filtering apparatus. The bill of James's flamingo is the narrowest of its kind. Both the Andean and James's flamingos have deep-keeled bills where the upper jaw is narrower than the lower. The

gape The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ca ...

of the bill is therefore on the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

side of the bill. The bill of James's flamingo is smaller and has a narrower upper jaw. The proximal end of the bill is mostly horizontal, then has a curvature downward and the distal end finishes with a hook-like feature. The inner

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the beak is similar to that of the

, where the upper and lower

jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...

s contain

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

which filter the food. In both the upper and lower jaw, the

proximal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

portion of the bill contains lamellae that are ridge-like with a curvature and distal end become more like hooks. Marginal and submarginal lamellae are found, and James's flamingo has the greatest number of both, which also means a smaller intermarginal distance is seen between them. About 21 lamellae per cm are found in this species, which is more than twice the number found in other flamingos. When the upper and lower jaws close together, the lamellae mesh together to allow the bill to be closed fully.Jenkin, P.M. "The Filter-Feeding and Food of Flamingoes (Phoenicopter)". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 240(674), 401-493. The sizes of the diatoms associated with this size filtering apparatus are about 21–60 μm. Diatoms this size are typically found close to the edge of the water; even in colonies of multiple species, James's flamingos typically feed in the region closest to the edge of the water. The birds are able to use their webbed feet to help kick up microscopic algae if not enough are floating in the

water column The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical ( pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined ...

Breeding

Breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

cycles in flamingos begin at 6 years of age when fully matured. The

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

of breeding is irregular and may skip a year. The entire

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

may participate in

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually repr ...

rituals at the same time. The males put on a show by vocalizing and sticking their necks and heads straight up in the air and turning their heads back and forth. The females initiate mating by walking away from the group and a male follows. The female then spreads her wings and the male mounts the female. The female lays one

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

on a cone-shaped

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

made from mud, sticks, and other materials in the area. The shape of the egg is oval, similar to that of a

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

. It is smaller in size (

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...

and

breadth Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

) compared to the other species, including the closely related

. Both the male and female incubate the egg for 26–31 days before it hatches. The chick breaks through the shell using an

egg tooth An egg tooth is a temporary, sharp projection present on the bill or snout of an oviparous animal at hatching. It allows the hatchling to penetrate the eggshell from inside and break free. Birds, reptiles, and monotremes possess egg teeth as h ...

, which is not actually a true tooth, but is actually a

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, feathers, horn (anatomy), horns, claws, Hoof, hoove ...

ized structure, which falls off after fully hatching. When newly hatched, the chick's bill is straight and red, but later develops a curve and the adult colors of beak. The feathers are white and grey and the legs are pink. The eyes of chicks are gray for their first year. The parents are able to distinguish their chick from others in the colony by appearance and vocalization.

Conservation status

This species was determined to be

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

in 2008, because the

populations Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of the last three

generation A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and b ...

s of this species have declined. The greatest threat to the population of this species is human destruction of their habitat. In local culture, stealing the eggs from the nest and sell them was common practice, but since then, measures have been taken to control this. Environmental threats such as heavy rainfall may also have an effect on the breeding of the species. Threats the

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

of the diatoms also threaten the species if enough food is available for them to eat.

References

External links

Puna Flamingo
from the IUCN/Wetlands International Flamingo Specialist Group *
Flamingo Resource Centre
– a collection of resources and information related to flamingos

– image of James's Flamingo
Harry Berkeley James and his Flamingo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q423782

James's flamingo James's flamingo (''Phoenicoparrus jamesi''), also known as the puna flamingo, is a species of flamingo that lives at high altitudes in the Andes, Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina. It is named for Harry Berkeley Ja ...

Birds of the Puna grassland Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of South America