Bird boom: Moscow Zoo boasts the largest population of flamingos in Russia

Moscow Zoo boasts a record-breaking number of flamingos. It has the largest population of these birds among Russia zoos. Recently, seven chicks were hatched. You can see growing red and pink flamingo chicks in the old part of Zoo next to a large pond. Now it is a home for 29 red and 17 pink flamingos.

Moscow residents and guests can admire these exotic birds in the open air until October. With the onset of cold weather, when the water of a large pond starts to freeze, flamingos are to be transferred to a special roofed enclosure.

"This is the largest group of flamingos among those living in Russian zoos. Breeding of these birds in captivity is a rather difficult process. In order for flamingos to regularly bring healthy offspring, they need a spacious enclosure with a pond, as well as a well-balanced diet and quiet atmosphere. Our ornithologists managed to create the most comfortable conditions for birds. Since 2000, flamingos in our Zoo hatch chicks almost every year," said Svetlana Akulova, Director General of the Moscow Zoo.

According to her, this time red flamingos have four chicks and pink flamingos have three chicks. Cubs' weight ranges from 300 to 800 g. Their bodies are so far covered with gray fluff, which will be replaced by red and pink plumage only next summer.

"We advise to watch adult and young flamingos during feeding — in the morning and in the afternoon. Twice a day, they get a mixture of Atlantic herring, special crustaceans and feed, enriched with carotene to make their colouring more intensive. During feeding, you can watch the birds eating their food, lowering their luxurious beaks into the water. After eating they clean their feathers, with the chicks carefully mimicking adults," added Director of the Zoo.

Pink and red flamingos are listed on the IUCN Red List. As their number in the wild has been decreasing, zoos around the world have been taking efforts to create a reserve population of these unique birds and protect them from extinction.

Pink (or common) flamingos live in Africa, southern Europe and South-West Asia. In Europe, the birds inhabit the South of France, Spain and Sardinia. In Africa they live mainly in the South of the continent, as well as in Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Kenya and Cape Verde Islands. Flamingos have been settling on the lakes of southern Afghanistan, North-Western India and Sri Lanka. Also, birds nest annually on Kurgaldzhin and Tengiz lakes in Central Kazakhst

Pink flamingo are considered to be the largest representatives of their kind. Adult male's height reaches 145 cm, with the weight about 4 kg.

Red (or Caribbean) flamingos are smaller than pink ones. They are about 110 cm high, and weigh some 2.5 kg. This species inhabits the Galapagos Islands, Islands and the lagoons of Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea it owes its second name to. Red flamingos prefer to nest on the coasts of large ocean bays.

Flamingos live in large flocks, and they are very restless birds. They sound loud and rough, like  geese  cackling. Group members often have noisy fights, with birds trying to impress and scare off their opponents, loudly flapping their wings and uttering shrill cries. During such conflicts, adult flamingos forget about eggs in the nest and can accidentally damage them. That is why zoo ornithologists carefully monitor the situation in the group during the breeding season.

Flamingos have a straight beak when hatched. At the age of two to three weeks, the beak begins to bend and eventually acquires a shape typical for this species. But they can boast their bright plumage only in the third year of life, after a few molts. At the age of four or five, they usually mate and hatch chicks. By the way, flamingos are monogamous and usually couple for life. In the wild birds usually live up to 30 years, and in zoos their life-span makes up about 50 years.

Moscow Zoo is currently extending its collection, now comprising over 1,000 species.  In 2017, it got its first aardvark and three couples of gentoo penguins.   In 2018, it received two Amur tigers, an Amur leopard, crested curassows and trumpeters. This year, the arrival of two pandas from China was one of the most significant events for the Moscow Zoo.