The Greater Flamingo (Poyser Monographs)

Description

With their curious feeding behaviour, peculiar elongated body, gregarious social lives and exotic pink plumage, flamingos are among the most familiar and popular of all the world's birds. They have inspired artists, poets and amateur naturalists for centuries, but until 50 years ago very little was known about their biology. A growing number of scientists have directed their attention to these magnificent birds over recent years; this book summarises current understanding of flamingo biology, with detailed discussion of population dynamics, ecology, movements, feeding, breeding biology and conservation, with emphasis placed on the authors' work on the famous population of Greater Flamingos in the Camargue region of southern France. There is also a detailed guide to breeding areas, and an outline of future challenges for research. Contents Preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction Flamingos and man Interest in flamingos: recent history Focus on the Camargue The flamingo specialist group About this book 2. The flamingos Ancestry and relationships of flamingos Morphology and general description Life history Discussion 3. Research The pioneers and early years of discovery Contemporary research – what have we learned? Distribution and numbers Capturing and marking flamingos Capture-resighting: estimating demographic parameters from marked individuals Foraging ecology Breeding ecology Captive flocks 4. Distribution and numbers Distribution Numbers Regional summaries Population trends 5. Movements Flight behaviour Types of movements Spatial patterns Some concluding remarks 6. Foraging ecology Feeding apparatus Food Feeding behaviour and foraging methods Foraging and drinking flights 7. Mating system and mate choice Group displays Pair formation and copulation Seasonal monogamy in Greater Flamingos Age-assortative pairing 8. Breeding biology Timing of breeding Colony establishment Breeding stages Breeding success 9. Survival and recruitment Causes of post-fledgling mortality Estimating survival Factors influencing survival Recruitment 10. Conservation and management Conservation status in the world Threats and conflicts Conservation actions 11. Conclusions: what does the future hold? Research in the future Conservation issues Epilogue 12. An inventory of the more important Greater Flamingo breeding sites Greater Flamingo breeding sites West Africa Mediterranean Asia East Africa Southern Africa Appendices Glossary References Colour plates Index