James’ or Puna Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi)

Identification & Behavior: ~90 cm (35.4 in). The James’ or Puna Flamingo shows pink and magenta on the base of the neck and not as much on the wing coverts. In flight, it shows a pink patch at the base of the underwings in an otherwise pale rest of the underwing lining. It is best distinguished from the Andean and Chilean Flamingos by the brick red legs, bright red skin in the loral area, reduced black bill tip, and by being the smallest of the three flamingos.

Status: The James’ or Puna Flamingo occurs in the southwest tip of Peru where is largely confined to Lake Salinas and perhaps in a lesser degree to smaller high elevation saline lakes. There are sight records in Parinacochas (Ayacucho), and coastal wetlands in Southwest Peru. The James’s or Puna Flamingo is not known to breed in Peru. They congregate, often in large number, in Lake Salinas (4300 m) outside the breeding season of approximately November through May. It also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Parina Chica.

Sub-species: James’ or Puna Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi) (Sclater, PL, 1886).

Meaning of Name:  Phoenicoparrus: Gr. Phoenix= red, crimson, parra=unknown bird of ill omen. jamesi: After English ornithologist Harry James-Berkeley. A red crimson bird of ill omen, named after an English ornithologist.

Go to the Family Phoenicopteridae