The Flamingo is a large wading wetlands bird in the Phoenicopteridae family. 

The four Flamingo species are found in countries in North America, South America, Africa, southern Europe and south-west Asia.

It is a social bird, living in colonies. A group is called a stand of Flamingos or a flamboyance of Flamingos.

The male and female form strong ‘pair bonds’ which means that they are flamingo friends forever. They stay together in a monogamous twosome, a courtship couple, for a lifetime. A lifetime for a Flamingo can be 20-80 years with a shorter lifespan in the wild, and a longer lifetime in zoos and conservation reserves.

So some pairs can stay together for about 50 years.

But not all of them. In very large colonies, Flamingos have ‘change mates’ which means that they can choose another Flamingo to mate with. 

However, mostly the pairs are inseparable, and can be upset when they lose their mate, their best friend.

Location of photographs: Paris Zoo, France

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM