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Although, by any standard, Lesser Flamingos are large aquatic birds, they are the smallest species of all flamingos. Large parts of the plumage are pink, except the flight feathers, which are red. The downward-kinked bill is all black, with a pink hue. The legs are light-pink, with darker pink joints and fully webbed feet. Juvenile and sub-adult Lesser Flamingos have a greyish plumage for several years before moulting into adult plumage.

Twitcher's tip

As opposed to Greater Flamingos, Lesser Flamingos have an entirely black bill.

The Lesser Flamingo has been re-classified and placed into its own genus "Phoeniconaias" and is no longer considered to be a species in the genus "Phoenicopterus".

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Lesser Flamingo is available HERE .

There are two major populations of Lesser Flamingos. The by far largest of the two populates parts of Africa (mostly southern and eastern Africa and the West coast of Madagascar, but also part of the West coast of the African continent). The smaller population resides in (near-)coastal south-eastern Pakistan and north-western India.

Vagrant Lesser Flamingos have been reported from the Arabian peninsula, including the North coast of Oman.

Lesser Flamingos are usually found in estuaries, intertidal wetlands and lagoons with shallow salt water, but also - in particular in East Africa - in inland areas.

We have not seen Lesser Flamingos in the wild yet. The photo shown below was taken in captivity. All photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by S. Kirkby.