Poster of the Flamingos from ARTIS

Poster with a photo of the Flamingos in ARTIS. Photographed by ARTIS photographer Ronald van Weeren.

The Chilean flamingo lives in groups of sometimes many thousands of birds along the shores of the salt lakes or 'saliñas' of central Argentina and the slopes of the Andes. Like all other flamingos, the Chilean flamingo has a narrow head and long neck in relation to their body. Chilean flamingos owe their salmon-pink color to carotenoid (astaxanthin), a yellow to reddish natural coloring agent. They get this substance by eating brine shrimp, which in turn get the substance by eating algae. During the digestion process, the carotenoid is stored in the feathers, beak and legs of the flamingos, turning them pink. 

• Dimensions 68 cm x 48.5 cm.