American Flamingo

Sighting
A large group of American Flamingo was standing in the shallows of the Caroni Swamp. We watched them from a moving boat while looking at several species coming to roost in the late afternoon.

Species
American Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber breeds in the Galápagos, coastal Colombia, Venezuela and nearby islands, Trinidad, along the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, Hispaniola, The Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Status and Distribution
It is a species of least concern with an estimated population of more than 250,000. There have been several large flocks in the swamps of west Trinidad in recent years. The bird is not found on Tobago.

References
BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 60

Photograph
Photographed in late afternoon light at 1/640th of a second, f7.1 and ISO 500.