All items sold on this website are polyurethane resin replicas, made in USA. No real or natural bone is available on this site.
Phoenicopterus roseus Skull Replica or Greater Flamingo measures 6.3 inches & is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA.
The Phoenicopterus roseus or Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest 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), Middle East, Levant, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe.
The Phoenicopterus roseus or Greater flamingo is the largest living species of flamingo, averaging 43 to 59 in. tall and weighing 4.4 to 8.8 lb. The largest male flamingos have been recorded to be up to 74 in. tall and to weigh 9.9 lbs.
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.
Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking.
Phoenicopterus roseus Skull Replica or Greater flamingo chicks are covered in gray fluffy down. Subadult flamingos are paler with dark legs. Adults feeding chicks also become paler, but retain the bright pink legs.
The coloration comes from the carotenoid pigments in the organisms that live in their feeding grounds. Secretions of the uropygial gland also contain carotenoids.
During the breeding season, greater flamingos increase the frequency of their spreading uropygial secretions over their feathers and thereby enhance their color. This cosmetic use of uropygial secretions has been described as applying “make-up”.
Adult greater flamingos have few natural predators. Eggs and chicks may be eaten by raptors, crows, gulls, and the marabou stork. An estimated half of the predation of greater flamingo eggs and chicks is from the yellow-legged gull.
