What to Know About the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda?

The Lesser Flamingo in Uganda is one of the African Uganda Birds seen during Uganda birding safaris. The lesser flamingo is a smallest species of the four flamingo species however tall and big it is. It has a length from 80-105cm, wingspan 95-120cm and weight varies from 1.2-2.7kg.

The lesser flamingo is of the family-Phoenicopteridae, Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum-Chordata, Class-Aves, Species-P. minor. Lesser flamingos have a deprived sense of taste and lacks a sense of smell.

They instead use a skill of flashing the backward feathers on the wings to communicate, the however have a very sharp ear.

It is a rare bird species that has a lifespan of up to 50 years. And inhabit areas near water bodies. In Uganda, the lesser flamingo is found in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Look Like?

Most parts of the lesser flamingo are pinkish white, the mature ones have deep eye and bare facial skin coverts.

If seen from a distance, the bent red bill, facial skin and eye look dusky. the legs are tall and pinky with webbed feet, long neck. Its wings have black feathers.

The male lesser flamingos are relatively taller than the females if clearly observed.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

The lesser flamingo gives a high pitched flight call “kwirrik”. A murmuring sound “murrrh-murrrh-errh” can be heard in feeding or walking lesser flamingos.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Feed?

Lesser flamingo feeds in a unique way of flamingos mainly on Spirulina, algae, small insects and crustaceans.

They bend the necks and bill over upside down the water. Their tongue is propelled to slurp in the saline, limy water and mud.

Filtration is done in the mouth to catch the microscopic algae in water. Wherever re flamingoes near a water body, just know the water is salty.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Nest?

Mature flamingos pair up and construct a nest out of mud. The nest is raised high up to 30cm basically to prevent it from flooding and keep it cool.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Breed?

The lesser flamingoes breed in larger groups of over thousand birds. flamingos make a pair and build their own nest in which the will make their family.

They have remarkable courtship displays all year round. A colony of hundreds of flamingos gathers and start matching together in the same direction back and forth.

They perch straight, stretch their neck uptight and tab their wings out to show the colors of their feathers.

How Does the Lesser Flamingo in Uganda Reproduce?

The female lesser flamingo lays just one egg. A pair of parents incubate that egg in intervals of 24hours for about 28 days.

At hatching, the chicks are pale with thick grey legs and straight beak. The chick then first eats its own shell before it is provided with liquid soup for the first two months as food by parents.

By the end of two months after hatching, the bill should have grown up enough to filter food. The chick is entitled to cram the calls of its parents to enable the parents provide maximum care, because in just 6 days after hatching, the young flamingo joins the “creche” of thousands of other juveniles.

The crèche runs for 7 days, then by the end of the month, the chick develops feathers and at about 12 weeks, they begin to fly.

How Does Flamingos of Uganda Fly?

Lesser flamingos have their own distinctive flying style; they fly in a flock of v-shaped format for a distance of around 60kmphr.

Lesser flamingoes have capacity to fly for up to 1500 km. Lesser Flamingos fly in large V-shaped formation. They fly at around 60 km per hour, and can travel up to 1500 km.