Pink Flamingos - Phoenicopterus roseus
We are in Sardinia between Cagliari and Capoterra and in the Montelargius ponds (Cagliari), where several colonies of flamingos have become resident since 1993.
This species, originally from Africa, has found its ideal habitat in southern Sardinia in the brackish waters of Cagliari and its surroundings, where it has been nesting for several years, feeding on algae, shrimp, and small mollusks found in the lagoon areas. The causes are still unknown; global warming has likely caused this species to migrate in search of new habitats; some specimens have even been spotted in the Orbetello lagoon in Tuscany. The fact is that the flamingo has now become a sedentary species in Sardinia.
Rather shy of humans, it has now colonized these ponds adjacent to urban areas, and as we can see from the photos taken this winter, even the youngest specimens (those that have not yet developed pink plumage) are now ubiquitous. Below are some information found online.
http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/Le-specie/Gli-uccelli-in-Italia/Le-specie-protette/FENICOTTERO
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phoenicopterus roseus
Ordine: Phoenicopteriformes Famiglia: Phenicopteridae
Standing up to one and a half meters tall, the Greater Flamingo is a large bird found virtually worldwide. Brightly colored—in its nominal subspecies—it breeds from the West Indies to the Galapagos. The more common Greater Flamingo, on the other hand, is typical of our latitudes, but also of southwest Asia and Africa.
A typically Mediterranean species, the Greater Flamingo has only been breeding in Italy since 1993, when the first nests were sighted in the Montelargius area of Sardinia. Subsequently, attempted—and often successful—breedings have occurred in Tuscany, Puglia, and the Comacchio Valleys, where large flocks of these birds also gather in portions of the wetland not far from villages or urbanized areas.
Migratory, wintering, and—since 1993—also breeding, the Greater Flamingo is characterized by its extremely high mobility. Just by reading the colored rings, it’s possible to discover how many individuals move across large portions of the Mediterranean, from one season to the next, sometimes within the same season. Pink plumage—sometimes intense—and a strict dependence on humid environments with a good food supply (typically algae and mollusks) characterize this species.
But another peculiarity has made the flamingo famous in the collective imagination: the long run before taking flight, during which the very long legs and equally elongated neck stand out. The beak, typically curved downward, is used not so much for grasping prey as for filtering directly from the water, through special lamellae, the small microorganisms that constitute the main part of this species’ diet.
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