American flamingo

Habitat

Globally, the American flamingo is widely distributed throughout the Caribbean, with breeding populations found in Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas. A small disjunct breeding population also occurs in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador and a breeding colony of birds that were originally imported and kept captive via pinioning occurs in Florida. There has been some evidence of recent breeding in the Dominican Republic and potential breeding sites also may exist in Colombia, Curaçao and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The American flamingo is generally considered to be non-migratory but is a strong flier that can move large distances in search of food or reproductive opportunities and as such can be found in additional countries throughout the Caribbean.

In Florida, American flamingos have been observed along much of the state’s coast; however, outside of Hialeah, more than 95% of observations have occurred within the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys. In addition, flamingos are increasingly being reported in the shallow treatment wetlands created along the northern fringe of the Everglades.