© Phil Clayton

Wild diet: Feed on minute particles of food including algae, diatoms and several kinds of aquatic invertebrate. Seeds and aquatic plants not as commonly. Thought that they occasionally swallow mud to take nutrients from all organic matter, such as bacteria, protozoa, algae and organic salts – can constitute as much as 20% of the dry weight of the mud.

Feeding strategy: Wades in water, with the head lowered into water, bill horizontal and pointing backwards. Pump water and mud in and out repeatedly. Filter through lamellae.

Species dietary differences: Lesser flamingo only feeds on very small algae of the genus Spirulina – needs calmer waters to feed from than the Greater. A Lesser Flamingo requires 60g per day of blue-green algae per day. Greater & Chilean Flamingo can take larger items up to 6mm. Caribbean Flamingo needs around 270g (dry weight) of larvae or brine-fly chrysalids per day – equivalent to 32,000 chrysalids or 50,000 larvae.

Wild weight ranges: From 1.2 - 2.2kg lesser flamingos to 2.1 - 4.1kg greater flamingos