Phoenicoparrus is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae. First established by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856,[2] it contains two species.[3][4]

Phoenicoparrus
Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Phoenicopteriformes
Family: Phoenicopteridae
Genus: Phoenicoparrus
Bonaparte, 1856
Type species
Phoenicopterus andinus
Philippi, 1854[1]
Synonyms

Phoeniconaias

Evolution

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Phoenicoparrus (andinus) head sketch from 1869

While it is hard to track where the Phoenicoparrus originally came from, there is evidence that it originated in the New World where it split from the other lesser group and into its own genus. The base of the genus is hypothesized to have started with the Andean species. The Phoenicoparrus split from the group around 2.56 million years ago and its two comprising species later split from 0.5-2.5 million years ago. The Phoenicoparrus is identified from the rest of its evolutionary group because it is a part of the deep-keeled group, however it is its own genus because both Andean and Jame's lack a hind toe.[4]

Diet and Habitat

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Phoenicoparrus chicks are fed filtered secretions for the first 4-7 weeks from their parents. The parents are able to filter sediments from the saline concentrated lakes in the wetlands they tend to habit. Chicks tend to have a higher amount of arsenic and iron in their bodies, too much of these concentrations can be dangerous. Adults, particularly females, have lower amounts of iron in their body because they shells they produce for the chicks have high iron concentration.[5] Phoenicoparrus are said to eat diatoms and vegetation such as algae because of the deep-keel of their beaks suited for filtration.[4] Both species feed their chicks through crop halocrine secretions that contain a larger amount of lipids than proteins, and it contains some amount of carbohydrates. While both species do not get sucrose in their diets from their parents when they are younger, a lack of sucrose in the body can sometimes be fatal. These species can be found in habitats in southern South America, such as northern Chile.[6]

Behavior

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Phoenicoparrus spends a majority of its time feeding, but it also spends time moving around, breeding, and cleaning itself. The flamingos are nomadic and tend to choose their habitat based on abundance of food and the waters characteristics.[7] Some water characteristics that attracted Phoenicoparrus jamesi were a higher pH, abundance of cyanobacteria and diatoms, and a medium temperature. On the other hand, Phoenicoparrus andinus prefers shallow water and does not seem to have other preferences.[8] Phoenicoparrus presence and behavior can be affected by human activity such as pollution, mining, illegal hunting, and the collection of eggs. These activities lead to the birds leaving the area or even leaving their nests. The flamingos are also affected by the surface area of the water. The flamingos are present more when the water is high than when the water is low.[9] While Andean and Jame's flamingos comprise the genus Phoenicoparus, both species tend to build nests away from the other respective species. Both species spend the largest amount of their time preening and resting.[10]

Conservation

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Phoenicoparrus jamesi is currently considered near threatened while Phoenicoparrus andinus is considered vulnerable.[8] Some techniques that work for protecting the Andean and James's flamingos is to stop poaching, protect their habitat, and educating the public and conserving the flamingos.[9]

Genus Phoenicoparrus Bonaparte, 1856 – two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Andean flamingo

 

Phoenicoparrus andinus
(Philippi, 1854)
southern Peru to northwestern Argentina and northern Chile
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 VU 


James's flamingo

 

Phoenicoparrus jamesi
(Sclater, PL, 1886)
Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina
 
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 NT 



References

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  1. ^ Philippi, R. A. (1855). "Ueber einige Vögel Chile's". Archiv für Naturgeschichte. 21 (1): 12.
  2. ^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1856). "Additions et corrections aux tableaux paralléliques de l'ordre des hérons et des pélagiens ou gavies, et à la partie correspondante, déjà publiée, du Conspectus Avium". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 43: 990–997 [992].
  3. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Grebes, flamingos". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Torres, Chris R; Ogawa, Lisa M; Gillingham, Mark AF; Ferrari, Brittney; van Tuinen, Marcel (2014). "A multi-locus inference of the evolutionary diversification of extant flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14 (1): 36. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-36. PMC 4016592. PMID 24580860.
  5. ^ Rocha, O.; Pacheco, L. F.; Ayala, G. R.; Varela, F.; Arengo, F. (2021). "Trace metals and metalloids in Andean flamingos (Phoenicoparrus andinus) and Puna flamingos (P. jamesi) at two wetlands with different risk of exposure in the Bolivian Altiplano". Semantic Scholar. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. ^ Sabat, Pablo; Novoa, F. Fernando; Parada, Mario (1 May 2001). "Digestive Constraints and Nutrient Hydrolysis in Nestlings of Two Flamingo Species". The Condor. 103 (2): 396–399. doi:10.1093/condor/103.2.396.
  7. ^ Derlindati, Enrique (9 February 2007). "Conservation of High Andes Flamingo Species (Phoenicoparrus andinus and P. jamesi): Habitat Use and Activity Patterns in Two Contrasting Wetland Systems of Argentina". Rufford Foundation. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b Canales-Gutiérrez, Ángel; Pillco-Mamani, Katia; Canales-Manchuria, Gelvi; Chambi-Alarcon, Marisol; Mestas-Gutierrez, Nataly; Belizario-Quispe, Germán; Canales-Manchuria, Fabrizzio (27 September 2023). "Distribution And Abundance of Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes: Phoenicopteridae) In the Salt-Affected Wetlands of The Peruvian Andes". International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology. 10 (4): 591–600 – via research gate.
  9. ^ a b Ugarte-Núñez, Joaquín A.; Mosaurieta-Echegaray, Lourdes (2000). "Assessment of Threats to Flamingos at the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Nature Reserve (Arequipa, Perú)". Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology. 23: 134–140. doi:10.2307/1522158. ISSN 1524-4695.
  10. ^ Rose, P. E.; Linscott, J.; Croft, D. P. (2015). "Social behaviour and activity of captive Andean and James' flamingos at Zoo Berlin". ResearchGate. Retrieved 16 April 2024.