# Lesser flamingo (*Phoeniconaias minor*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-flamingo  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a bird of the family Phoenicopteridae in the order Phoenicopteriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.5 kg (up to 1.93 kg) and a wingspan from 95 cm to 1 m. This herbivore lives in wetland habitat, has a terrestrial lifestyle and is sedentary. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.5 kg – 1.93 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 95 cm – 1 m |
| Lifespan | 47.5 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 50 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 28 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 2.98 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Phoenicopteriformes
- family: Phoenicopteridae
- genus: Phoeniconaias
- species: *Phoeniconaias minor* (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1798)

Synonyms: *Phoenicoparrus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor*, *Phoenicopterus minor minor*, *Phoenicopterus rubidus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the lesser flamingo?

The lesser flamingo is a bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, order Phoenicopteriformes.

### How big is the lesser flamingo?

The lesser flamingo has an adult body mass of 1.5 kg, up to 1.93 kg. Its wingspan ranges from 95 cm to 1 m.

### What does the lesser flamingo eat?

The lesser flamingo is a herbivore.

### Is the lesser flamingo endangered?

No. The lesser flamingo is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does the lesser flamingo live?

The lesser flamingo has a lifespan of 47.5 years, with values up to 50 years reported.

### How many eggs does the lesser flamingo lay?

The lesser flamingo lays 1 egg per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 28 days.

### Does the lesser flamingo migrate?

No, the lesser flamingo is sedentary.

### Who named the lesser flamingo?

The lesser flamingo was named Phoeniconaias minor by (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1798).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-flamingo