Which country is home to more than 80,000 flamingos?

The flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas, an island nation in the Caribbean. Over 80,000 flamingos live on the southernmost island, Great Inagua.

Flamingos prefer to live near shallow lakes and ponds, and thrive in environments with very salty water conditions, such as in the Bahamas. To feed, flamingos stand with their heads upside down in the water to catch small fish, crustaceans and algae in their beaks. The flamingos' pink colour comes from their food. In the Caribbean, flamingos enjoy a varied diet, causing them to be even pinker than flamingos in other parts of the world.

Inagua National Land & Sea Park, which covers 45 percent of Great Inagua Island, is where the majority of the flamingos live in the Bahamas. Since Matthew Town is the only inhabited settlement on the island, the flamingos are not threatened by the presence of humans and other predators. The share the forest green habitat with over 140 species of native and migratory birds.

'Inagua' may have originally been named 'Heneagua' by the first settlers on the island. 'Heneagua' means “water to be found here,” which is a blend of two Spanish words, 'heno' (full) and 'agua' (water). The Greater Inagua Island is 596 sq. miles (1544 sq. kms) and home to approximately 913 people.