Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Porto

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

433 Verified sightings at Porto
10,941 In all 23 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Greater Flamingo

The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the largest and most widespread species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent (south of the Himalayas), Central Asia, the Middle East, the Levant, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe.

The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), but because of colouring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, these two flamingos are now considered separate species. The greater flamingo is monotypic, with no subspecies.

It is found in parts of Northern Africa (including coastal areas of northern Algeria, Egypt further inland along the Nile River, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia), portions of Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda), Southern Asia (coastal Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), the Western Asia (Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:19

Spain · 2022

© Mr Mark Shorten · XC734449 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Nocturnal flight call0:22

Spain · 2021

© Albert Subirà · XC636945 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:33

Tanzania · 2019

© Peter Boesman · XC510306 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~80%
2 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~80%
3 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~70%
4 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
5 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~60%
6 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
7 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
8 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
9 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
11 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
12 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
~10%
13 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
<5%
14 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
15 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
16 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
17 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
18 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
19 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
20 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
21 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
22 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
23 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Izmir 🇹🇷 Turkey
~50%
2 Kuwait City 🇰🇼 Kuwait
~40%
3 Karachi 🇵🇰 Pakistan
~40%
4 Manama 🇧🇭 Bahrain
~30%
5 Tunis 🇹🇳 Tunisia
~30%
6 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
7 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Algiers 🇩🇿 Algeria
~10%
9 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~10%
10 Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Everland 🇰🇷 South Korea In captivity
3 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
5 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
6 Basel Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
7 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
8 Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Parque das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
10 Le Pal 🇫🇷 France In captivity
11 Zlín-Lešná Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
12 Dvůr Králové Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
13 Korkeasaari Zoo 🇫🇮 Finland In captivity
14 Paris Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
15 Zoo Pilsen 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
16 Parc Phœnix 🇫🇷 France In captivity
17 Réserve africaine de Sigean 🇫🇷 France In captivity
18 Jihlava Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
19 Chomutov Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
20 Walsrode World Bird Park 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
21 Muséum de Besançon 🇫🇷 France In captivity
22 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
23 Rostov Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
24 Kaliningrad Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
25 Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée 🇫🇷 France In captivity
26 Zoobotánico Jerez 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
27 Silver Springs 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
28 Arignar Anna Zoological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
29 Mohamed bin Zayed Nature Reserve 🇧🇭 Bahrain In captivity
30 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
31 Taman Safari Indonesia 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity
32 Al Ain Zoo 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates In captivity
33 Safaripark Beekse Bergen 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
34 Taipei Zoo 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
35 Safari West 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
36 Serengeti Park 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
37 Khao Kheow Open Zoo 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
38 Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity
39 Chiang Mai Zoo 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
40 Badoca Safari Park 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
41 Ramat Gan Safari 🇮🇱 Israel In captivity
42 Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
43 Tallinn Zoo 🇪🇪 Estonia In captivity
44 Bratislava Zoo 🇸🇰 Slovakia In captivity
45 Baghdad Zoo 🇮🇶 Iraq In captivity
46 Safari Park Open Zoo 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
47 Chimelong Safari Park 🇨🇳 China In captivity
48 Safari de Peaugres 🇫🇷 France In captivity
49 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
50 Beijing Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Greater Flamingo in Porto?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Flamingo sighting in Porto on a given day, based on 433 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Greater Flamingo in Porto?

August and October

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Flamingo in Porto on a given day, against under 5% in January to June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Greater Flamingo?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Flamingo sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Porto the best place to see a Greater Flamingo?

9th of 23

Of the 23 cities where we can rate Greater Flamingo sightings, Porto ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Izmir (Turkey, about 50%), Kuwait City (Kuwait, about 40%) and Karachi (Pakistan, about 40%).

Where does the Greater Flamingo sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Greater Flamingo is recorded against all the birds logged in Porto (433 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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