Chilean flamingo

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Chilean flamingo
Chile flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) in Northern Chile

Chile flamingos ( Phoenicopterus chilensis ) in Northern Chile

Systematics
Row : Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes)
Family : Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)
Genre : Phoenicopterus
Type : Chilean flamingo
Scientific name
Phoenicopterus chilensis
Molina , 1782

The Chile Flamingo or Chilean flamingo ( Phoenicopterus chilensis ) is the most common of the three in South America occurring Flamingo - species .

description

The Chilean flamingo is on average 120 to 140 cm tall (of which the long legs alone make up 40–50 cm). Females tend to be smaller than males. The neck is long and s-shaped in normal posture, but straight in flight. The plumage color is pink and depends on the ingestion of carotenoids with food. The gray legs are colored bright red at the intertarsal joints , which is a clear identification of the species. The call is a goose-like hoot.

Occurrence

In contrast to Andean and James flamingos, Chilean flamingos are found in large parts of South America. They can be found from Peru via Uruguay to Tierra del Fuego . The breeding areas are in the high Andes , where the weather is subject to short-term fluctuations. Storm, hail or snow are not uncommon even during the breeding season. Night temperatures can drop below −20 ° C.

Way of life

A few days old Chilean flamingo in the Bernburg Zoo
Chilean flamingo
Head of a chile flamingo in Durrell Wildlife Park, Jersey

Chilean flamingos feed on small crustaceans, insects, molluscs and algae from the bottom mud, which are sifted out with the help of the specialized beak. Young animals are fed their parents' nutrient-rich crop milk. The breeding does not necessarily take place annually and in mixed colonies together with Andean and James flamingos , which can include thousands to tens of thousands of animals. This means that the breeding process is mostly concentrated in a few breeding sites. There is a tendency to loyalty to the breeding site. On extensive, flat, muddy and barren banks as well as on such islands, the flamingos erect truncated mud cones in close proximity to each other, on which a single, white egg with a lime-smeared coating is deposited. If the egg is lost, a new one is added. The egg length is 87.6 to 100.0 mm, the width 50.0 to 56.5 mm. The brood lasts around 30 days. Several days can pass between picking and hatching. Newly hatched young animals have almost white downy plumage, pink legs and a straight beak. The egg tooth loses itself only after three weeks. The blackening of the legs begins in 7 to 9 days. The downy dress turns uniformly gray and only disappears completely after three months. The curvature of the beak is already visible at 27 days of life and pronounced at 48 days as in the adult animal. The young animals eat independently at around ten weeks. They are fully grown at 1½ – 2 years.

Attitude in human hands

Chilean flamingos are often shown zoo animals that are not particularly difficult to keep. Well-suited feed mixes are available from several suppliers. Flamingo feed mixes usually contain the coloring agent canthaxanthin. In order to obtain the typical coloration, ground paprika is also often fed. For breeding, however, the flamingos are difficult to move in some zoos. Numerous factors are known that favor offspring. It is unclear, however, which of these conditions are essential in combination with others. Contrary to the prevailing doctrine, especially with Chilean flamingos, it became clear that successful breeding is already possible with a few animals. Flamingos that are not kept in closed aviaries are sometimes given dummies for part of the breeding period in order to prevent eggs from being lost to crows. The hand-rearing of orphaned Chilean flamingos has also been successful several times. In human hands, flamingos can reach an age of over 60 years.

Existence and endangerment

The total population of chile flamingo is estimated at around 200,000 animals, which is a significant decrease from an estimated 500,000 animals in the 1970s. The species was classified in the global red list of the World Conservation Organization ( IUCN ) in 2004 as near threatened. At least in the past, eggs were collected in considerable numbers by the indigenous population for human consumption.

Outside of South America, in the Dutch-German border area on the Zwillbrocker Venn, there is a breeding colony with chile flamingos, which can be traced back to animals that had escaped from human hands.

Chile flamingos in the Zwillbrocker Venn

Two chile flamingos of the wild population at the Zwillbrocker Venn in Germany

In 1982 six Chileflamingos settled in the Zwillbrocker Venn in North Rhine-Westphalia on the border with the Netherlands and built nests. There was no breeding success. In 1983, twelve chile flamingos appeared in the spring and two young birds hatched for the first time. One young bird died and the other young bird was taken to a zoo because it was suspected that it would not be able to fledge under the environmental conditions of Central Europe. In 1985, three young birds were shipped to animal parks, while one was allowed to fly out in nature. From 1983 to 1989 a total of 13 young birds were brought to animal parks. In 1986 the Greater Flamingo first appeared in the flamingo colony. Since 1993 young birds of the greater flamingo have also fledged. The Cuban flamingo first appeared in the colony in 1994 . There have always been successful mixed breeds (Chilean flamingo x Greater Flamingo). Since 1989, there have been 26 to 40 flamingos per year in the colony, including young birds. The Chilean flamingos have made up around two thirds of the colony's inhabitants since the Greater Flamingo was settled. In 2006, the 28 Chilean flamingos made up 74% of the flamingos in the colony. The greater flamingo made up 18% of the colony with seven animals, plus a Cuban flamingo and two hybrid flamingos.

Between 1993 and 2006, six to 17 breeding pairs of flamingos were counted in the Fens each year. The third generation of flamingos has now bred in the colony. From 1983 to 1995 there were juveniles in the colony every year. From 1996 to 2000 all broods were unsuccessful due to predation by predatory mammals, mainly probably by the red fox . The predatory mammals were able to reach the breeding island from 1996 because of the siltation in the lake. There has been breeding success again since 2001, as optimal breeding site conditions were created by regulating the water level in the lake and building an electric fence. From 1983 to 2005, 177 nests were built and 72 young birds fledged. 40.7% of the young birds of the colony fledged and thus achieve values ​​as in colonies elsewhere in the world. Up to 2005, one to eight young birds fledged each year.

The colony's young birds have been ringed since 1987. From 1995 onwards, 5.5 cm high plastic rings with a code were used. These code rings can be read with binoculars and provide precise data on individual animals.

After leaving the Fens in autumn, rest areas such as the IJsselmeer , Veluwemeer and Oostvaardersplassen are visited. The wintering area is the tidal Scheldt , Rhine-Maas Delta in the province of Zeeland. Initially, the young birds are still fed by their parents. Depending on the weather, the flamingos return to the Fens from the end of February to the beginning of March. In severe winters, however, they don't return to the area until the beginning of April. The subadults (birds that were hatched in the previous year) usually stay in the wintering area and only return to the colony as adults.

The flamingos in the Fens live from the plankton in the lake. Because of the droppings of the several thousand black-headed gulls that breed there, there is enough plankton for the flamingos. The flamingos of the colony also show the same red coloring of the plumage as in other colony locations.

The exact origin of the various flamingos could never be determined. It is assumed that the Chilean flamingos and Cuban flamingos are escaped from animal keeping, as wild flamingos of these species do not come to Europe. The greater flamingos in the colony could also be wild birds from southern Europe.

The flamingos have become the main attraction and popular figure of the Zwillbrocker Venn. Various media have repeatedly reported on the flamingo colony. It is a unique selling point for the region and is used as a marketing label. T-shirts, mugs, etc. with flamingo motifs are sold in the region.

Elimination (catching and shooting) is required for Germany if the hybrids with the Greater Flamingo on the Zwillbrocker Venn should prove capable of reproduction, since the Greater Flamingo is a European species, while the Chilean Flamingo is a non-European species.

References and comments

  1. a b Kear, 2004
  2. ^ Howard & Moore, 1994
  3. a b c Johnson et al., 1958
  4. Bucher et al., 2000
  5. Johnson et al., 1958; n = 14
  6. Gangloff & Gangloff, 1994
  7. a b Johann, 1998
  8. Gangloff and Gangloff, 1994
  9. Gangloff and Gangloff, 1994; Rösing, 1991
  10. Evidence for greater flamingos by Schifter & Studer-Thiersch, 1997. The same can be assumed for Chilean flamingos.
  11. de Grahl, 1990
  12. Joop Treep, Dietmar Ikemeyer: Flamingos in the Zwillbrocker Venn. LÖBF reports 2006/3: 12–16.
  13. Klemens Steiof: Action requirements in dealing with non-native and invasive bird species in Germany . Reports on bird protection 47/48, 2011: 93-118.

literature

  • HJ Bock, Gerhard Haas : First artificial rearing of a flamingo in the Wuppertal Zoo. The Zoological Garden (New Series) Vol. 44, 1974, pp. 80-86.
  • Enrique H. Bucher, Ada L. Echevarria, Maria D. Juri, Jose M. Chani: Long-term survey of Chilean flamingo breeding colonies on Mar Chiquita lake, Córdoba, Argentina. In: Waterbirds. The International Journal of Waterbird Biology. Vol. 23 Special Publication No. 1 (Conservation biology of flamingos), 2000, pp. 114-118, ISSN  1524-4695
  • Bernadette Gangloff, Lucien Gangloff: Experiences with the hand rearing of Chileflamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis Molina, 1782). The Zoological Garden (New Series) Vol. 64, 1994, pp. 163-184, ISSN  0044-5169
  • Wolfgang de Grahl: The flamingo - breeding bird in German nature. Feathered World, No. 4 1990, 119–120
  • Richard Howard, Alick Moore. A complete checklist of the birds of the world. Academic Press London, 2nd edition 1994, ISBN 0-12-356910-9
  • Achim Johann: Maintenance of the Chilean Flamingo at Rheine Zoo. International Zoo News, Vol. 45, No. 7 1998, page 406 ff
  • AWJohnson, F. Behn, WR Millie: The South American flamingos. The Condor Vol. 60, 1958, pp. 289-299.
  • Janet Kear : Flamingos. In: Christopher M. Perrins (ed.): The BLV encyclopedia birds of the world. Translated from the English by Einhard Bezzel. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 (Title of the original English edition: The New Encyclopedia Of Birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003).
  • Janet Kear, Nicole Duplaix-Hall (eds.): Flamingos. T. & AD Poyser Berkhamsted, 1975.
  • Ernst M. Lang : Flamingos raise their young on a liquid containing blood. Experimentia Vol. 19, 1962, pp. 532-533
  • J. Rösing: Successful hand-rearing of three Chile flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis). Annual report of the Zoological Garden of the City of Frankfurt am Main, Vol. 116–130, 1991, pp. 64–69
  • Herbert Schifter , Adelheid Studer-Thiersch: Remarkable age of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) in human hands. The Zoological Garden (New Series) Vol. 67, 1997, page 390
  • Joop Treep, Dietmar Ikemeyer: Flamingos in the Zwillbrocker Venn . LÖBF reports 2006/3: 12–16.

Web links

Commons : Chileflamingo ( Phoenicopterus chilensis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files