Scientists have assessed whether there were historically American flamingos in Florida, or if the increasing sightings of flamingos in Florida wetlands are escaped captive birds and their descendants. It looks like there is a case for there being native flamingos and that their increasing numbers indicate that they are returning to part of their native habitat.
Interesting article @DavidBrown. I had always assumed that the flamingos in Florida were native, so some of the information in this article about people believing them to be escaped captives was surprising to me.
I wonder if there are historical records of flamingos living in Florida prior to the 20th century; surely at some point in the past people living in Florida made a remark about them?
It would be interesting to census captive flamingos in Florida. And how many are not leg-banded or pinioned, and do owners report escapes. Especially one flock at Halileah: do its owners report birds leaving and coming back? And get information from the customs how many birds are imported from outside the state. This is something where Zoochatters can contribute.
I guess it is an urban tale that most flamingos in Florida are 'escaped', even a flock of 147 seen in 2014. Much like stories of thousands of pet tigers in Texas turned to be gross exagerration.
