Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus
LCLeast Concern
- Family
- Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)
- Order
- Phoenicopteriformes
Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to see it
Destination guides featuring this bird
France
Camargue
The Rhône delta: flamingos, herons and bee-eaters among lagoons and rice fields.
- JJanuary: Good
- FFebruary: Good
- MMarch: Poor or no data
- AApril: Best
- MMay: Best
- JJune: Best
- JJuly: Poor or no data
- AAugust: Poor or no data
- SSeptember: Good
- OOctober: Good
- NNovember: Poor or no data
- DDecember: Poor or no data
Mauritania
Banc d’Arguin National Park
Desert meets ocean: one of the world's great wintering sites for shorebirds.
- JJanuary: Best
- FFebruary: Best
- MMarch: Best
- AApril: Good
- MMay: Poor or no data
- JJune: Poor or no data
- JJuly: Poor or no data
- AAugust: Poor or no data
- SSeptember: Good
- OOctober: Best
- NNovember: Best
- DDecember: Best
Range and habitat
Southern Europe and Mediterranean basin to southern Africa, Madagascar, and southern Asia.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Greater flamingo
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.