A small flamingo with a long curved neck and slender pink legs, gathering on saline lakes and similar wetlands.
Its plumage ranges from pale pink to red, with black flight feathers. The bent bill contains fine structures for filtering tiny food particles.
Lesser Flamingos filter microscopic food from saline and alkaline wetlands in Africa and South Asia. Flocks may move between wetlands at night when conditions change.
A southern African wildlife and utilities manual identifies their mainly nocturnal flights as a power-line collision risk. Measures need to make cables detectable during darkness.
Conservationists and utilities develop devices for night-flying birds. Feeding sites and stopover wetlands complement breeding lakes, so safe travel also forms part of the habitat network.
IUCN Red List (conservation institution account) · Near Threatened · Global
Wetland pollution and alteration, breeding disturbance and power-line collisions are threats. Conservation priorities include major breeding and feeding sites, sound water conditions and mitigation suited to nocturnal flights.