Similar but different: Two very similar species but different habitat preferences
Similar but different: Two very similar species but different habitat preferences
As part of my work, I have had the opportunity to visit wetlands along both the east and west coasts of India. On the west coast, I have explored wetlands in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Kanyakumari, while on the east coast I have visited Chilika Lake (Odisha), Pulicat Lake (Andhra Pradesh), and Point Calimere (Tamil Nadu).If there is one bird that you are almost certain to encounter in many of these wetlands, it is the flamingo. Their majestic pink plumage is so striking that it is almost impossible to miss them. My very first sighting of flamingos was at the NRI Wetlands in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, and I still remember being completely mesmerized. To this day, I consider them one of the most beautiful wading birds I have ever seen. What fascinated me even more was their unique feeding behaviour. Watching them gently sweep their bills just beneath the water's surface, filtering microscopic algae and other tiny organisms, felt like witnessing one of nature's most elegant adaptations.
On closer inspection, I noticed that not all flamingos looked the same. Some individuals had dull grey plumage instead of the characteristic pink. Later, I learned that these were juveniles that had not yet developed their vibrant adult coloration. But that was not the only difference. I soon discovered that there were actually two species of flamingos in India, the Greater Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. As my travels took me further along the east coast of India, I began noticing something interesting. Wherever I visited, I consistently encountered only Greater Flamingos. This observation immediately raised a question in my mind:
Where were the Lesser Flamingos? Given that both species occur in India and often appear superficially similar, why was one seemingly absent from the wetlands I visited?
Curious to find the answer, I turned to the scientific literature. I discovered that although the Greater and Lesser Flamingos look remarkably alike, they differ in several aspects of their ecology, particularly in their habitat use and feeding preferences.