---
title: "Lesser Flamingo"
description: "Phoeniconaias minor — Birds. The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/lesser-flamingo
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Lesser Flamingo

> Phoeniconaias minor — Birds. The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India.

- Scientific name: *Phoeniconaias minor*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 4772
- Wikidata: [Q242369](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q242369)
- iNaturalist taxon: [4259](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4259)

## Names

- en: Lesser Flamingo
- de: Zwergflamingo
- es: Flamenco enano
- fr: Flamant nain
- nl: Kleine flamingo
- pt: Flamingo-pequeno
- pl: Flaming mały

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1084), TZ (828), KE (736), IN (567), NA (557), FR (126), ES (82), MG (55), SN (39), UG (34), ET (27), BW (22)

## Summary

The lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. Birds are occasionally reported from farther north, but these are generally considered vagrants.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_flamingo

## Photo

![Lesser Flamingo](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/lesser-flamingo/medium.jpg)

Photo: Светлана Царахова · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/180599531

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/lesser-flamingo?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).