Rhulani Maluleke, Biodiversity Officer, at the Department of Agriculture, Rural development and Environment, has confirmed there is a black flamingo at the Marievale nature Reserve in Nigel.
“The flamingo has been here for more than a month now. As for gender and where it comes from, I don’t know.”
Andrew de Blocq, Avitourism Manager for BirdLife in Gauteng, says “from what I saw, it is a melanistic Lesser Flamingo. Melanism is a condition where the dark pigments are overexpressed.”
He also said although it is a rare condition, it is not unheard of. Lesser Flamingo is a regular indigenous species.
Picture: Science