Flamingos are native to warm, watery habitats across parts of the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, especially around salty or alkaline lakes, lagoons, and coastal wetlands.

Native regions

  • Flamingos naturally occur on five continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
  • In the Americas, wild populations live mainly around the Caribbean, Galápagos, and parts of coastal and inland South America.
  • In the Old World, large populations occur in East and southern Africa, the Mediterranean region (e.g., southern Europe), and parts of Southwest and Central Asia.

Typical habitats

  • Flamingos are most strongly associated with large alkaline or saline lakes and estuarine lagoons that often have little or no vegetation.
  • They also use mangrove swamps, tidal flats, and sandy islands in shallow coastal zones, where there is plenty of algae, plankton, and small invertebrates to eat.

Species and their native ranges

  • American flamingos are native to the Caribbean region and nearby coastal areas of North and South America, including places like the Yucatán and some parts of northern South America.
  • Andean and related high‑Andes species are native to salt lakes and wetlands of the Andes in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.
  • Greater and lesser flamingos are native to Africa and parts of southern Europe and Asia, especially around major rift‑valley lakes and Mediterranean wetlands.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.