American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) Fact Sheet: Population & Conservation Status

Population estimates

• 260,000-330,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2016)

Estimates from 1990s through 2001

• Galapagos Islands: 435 (Brueker & Vargas, 1998; Delany & Scott, 2002)
• Bahamas: 60,000 (Delany & Scott, 2002)
• Cuba: 100,000 to  200,000 (FSG, 2000; Delany & Scott, 2002)
• Venezuela, and Bonaire: 34,000 (Delany & Scott, 2002; Espinoza et al., 2000)
• Yucatan Peninsula:  30,000 (Delany & Scott, 2002)

IUCN

• Least Concern (2018 assessment) (BirdLife International 2018)

CITES

• Appendix II (UNEP 2019)
  • Entire family of flamingos listed since 1983

Other

• Believed extinct in 1924, the James' flamingo was rediscovered in 1957, its range overlapping that of the Chilean flamingo.
• Large protected areas important to protection of flamingos
  • Shift habitat use with seasonal changes in food and environmental conditions

Threats

• Habitat loss due to road construction and coastal development (houses, docks, industrial, etc.)
• Lead poisoning due to the ingestion of lead shot
  • Lead bullets now prohibited in some areas
• Large numbers of tourists, bird watchers and photographers can disturb colonies enough to cause substantial losses of eggs and young.

History

• Because the color of feathers fades quickly after plucking, the feather trade of the early 20th century did not exploit flamingos the way it did many other bird species.

Baldassarre & Arengo (2000)
BirdLife International (2016)
Brueker & Vargas (1998)
Delany & Scott (2002)
Espinoza et al. (2000)
FSG (2000)