All items sold on this website are polyurethane resin replicas, made in USA. No real or natural bone is available on this site.
Phoenicoparrus minor Skull Replica or Lesser Flamingo measures 4.8 inches. Lesser-Flamingo Skull Replica is Museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. 2-part skull
The Phoenicoparrus minor or Lesser flamingo is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India.
The Lesser flamingo is the smallest species of flamingo, though it is a tall and large bird by most standards.
The species can weigh from 2.6 to 6.0 lb. The standing height is around 31 to 35 in. The total length (from beak to tail) and wingspan are in the same range of measurements, from 35 to 41 in.
Most of the Phoenicoparrus minor or Lesser flamingo plumage is pinkish white. The clearest difference between this species and the greater flamingo, the only other Old World species of flamingo, is the much more extensive black on the bill.
The skull of a flamingo has several adaptations that allow it to feed upside down in water and filter small prey. They have some interesting structural features which differ from other birds – the lower bill is larger and stronger than the upper bill, and the upper bill is mobile rather than being rigidly fused to the rest of the skull so it can move during feeding.
In Africa, where they are most common, the Lesser flamingos breed principally on the highly caustic Lake Natron in northern Ngorongoro District in Arusha Region of Tanzania.
Their other African breeding sites are at Etosha Pan, Makgadikgadi Pan, and Kamfers Dam. The last confirmed breeding season at Aftout es Saheli in coastal Mauritania was in 1965.
Breeding occurred at Lake Magadi in Kenya in 1962 when Lake Natron was unsuitable due to flooding. In the early 20th century, breeding was also observed at Lake Nakuru.
The Phoenicoparrus minor or Lesser flamingo also breeds in southwestern and southern Asia. In 1974, they bred at the Rann of Kutch, but since then, only at the Zinzuwadia and Purabcheria salt pans in northwestern India. Some movement of individuals occurs between Africa and India.
Like all flamingos, they lay a single chalky-white egg on a mound they build of mud. Chicks join creches soon after hatching, sometimes numbering over 100,000 individuals.
The creches are marshalled by a few adult birds that lead them by foot to fresh water, a journey that can reach over 20 miles.
Despite being the most common species of flamingo, it is classified as near threatened due to its declining population and the low number of breeding sites, some of which are threatened by human activities.
The population of the Phoenicoparrus minor or Lesser flamingo in the two key East African lakes, Nakuru and Bogoria, have been adversely affected in recent years by suspected heavy metal poisoning. While its primary African breeding area in Lake Natron is currently under threat by a proposed soda ash plant by Tata Chemicals.
The only breeding site in South Africa, situated at Kamfers Dam, is threatened by pollution and encroaching development.
The lesser flamingo is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.
