Taken 22-Dec-08
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Photo Info
Dimensions2121 x 1770
Original file size316 KB
Image typeJPEG
Color spacesRGB
Date taken22-Dec-08 12:50
Date modified8-May-11 05:18
Shooting Conditions
Camera makeNIKON CORPORATION
Camera modelNIKON D3
Focal length400 mm
Focal length (35mm)600 mm
Max lens aperturef/5.7
Exposure1/1600 at f/5.6
FlashNot fired
Exposure bias+1 1/3 EV
Exposure modeAuto
Exposure prog.Shutter priority
ISO speedISO 250
Metering modeCenter-weighted average
Digital zoom1.5x
The Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor). Foreground: Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and a hippo floating in the background. Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. East Africa 2009 © Nora de Angelli /
The Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) is a species in the flamingo family of birds that resides in Africa (principally in the Great Rift Valley) and in southern Asia. The Lesser Flamingo is the smallest and most numerous flamingo, probably numbering up to two million individual birds.
Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The clearest difference between this species and Greater Flamingo, the only other Old World species, is the much more extensive black on the bill. Size is less helpful unless the species are together, since the sexes of each species also differ in height.
This species feeds primarily on Spirulina, algae which grow only in very alkaline lakes. Although blue-green in colour, the algae contain the photosynthetic pigments that give the birds their pink colour. Their deep bill is specialised for filtering tiny food items. The lesser flamingo also feeds on shrimp.
Like all flamingos, they lay a single chalky white egg on mounds they build of mud. Chicks join creches soon after hatching, sometimes numbering over a hundred thousand individuals. The creches are marshalled by a few adult birds who lead them by foot to fresh water, a journey that can reach over 20 miles (32 km).
The population in the two key east African lakes, Nakuru and Bogoria, have been adversely affected in recent years by suspected heavy metal poisoning, while its primary African breeding area in Lake Natron is currently under threat by a proposed soda ash plant by Tata Chemicals. The only breeding site in South Africa, situated at Kamfers Dam, is threatened by pollution and encroaching development.
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