ABSTRACT
Four species of flamingoes occur in South America and the Caribbean, another is almost entirely afro-tropical, and the sixth lives in continental Africa, Madagascar, the Mediterranean, and Eurasia as far east as India. Flamingoes are wading birds, particularly associated with brackish or alkaline waters. All flamingoes are gregarious and nest colonially. Only a single egg is laid at each breeding attempt. Before fledging the young characteristically flock together to form “creches”. Flamingoes have a comparatively high longevity with fairly low adult mortality rates (probably about 10 to 20%), so that survival for 20 years is not uncommon. Aerial censuses can be carried out either by direct counting or by use of photography. Reasonably precise direct counts can only be obtained when total numbers and the density of birds are comparatively low. The final method of obtaining flamingo population estimates from aerial census photographs is by use of an automatic particle counter to scan the photographs.
