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Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
Rosaflamingo / Europæisk flamingo
Facts: Weight: 2.1-4.1 kg
Length: 120–145 cm
Habitat: Salt-impregnated islands of Spain, France, Kazakhstan, Africa, the Middle East, India and Sri Lanka.
Sexual maturity: 5-6 years
Incubation period: 27-31 days
Number of eggs per clutch: 1-2
Food: Small invertebrates, small fish and small vegetable matter.
Life expectancy: 40 years
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Africa is just one of the continents to host this flamingo species. They form enormous colonies of up to 20,000 couples. Their nests consist of a mud cone in which a single egg is laid. The egg hatches after 27-31 days. The offspring are covered with grey down, which is succeeded by darker down. Flamingos living in the wild get their red-coloured plumage from eating algae, or animals that have eaten algae. At the Zoo, we add maintain the colour by adding a colorant (canthaxanthin) to their food.
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