Caribbean Flamingo

Flamingos are very distinctive birds because of their colour and the unusual shape of their beaks. The Caribbean Flamingo is nearly scarlet in prime condition, unlike the Greater which is a pale pink.
The birds colour is due to their diet where they obtain carotenoid pigments. In captivity artificial pigments are added to their diet to enhance the colour during the breeding season. It has been proved that colour is very important for display purposes as a catalyst to mating.
Distribution: Caribbean islands, Caribbean Mexico, Belize and Galapagos islands.
Diet: Algae, shrimps, molluscs and insect larvae.