2015.01.16
Mystery wild flamingo observed in Okinawa City
Sightings of a flamingo that is not a native species to Okinawa have often been reported in the southern and middle parts of the Island since last month.
However, there have been no reports of a flamingo escaping from any of the local zoos. Bird watchers on Okinawa say, “No one has an idea where it came from.”
On the 9th and 10th of this month, one was seen on a shore in Okinawa City where the bird was looking for food sticking its beak into the water. Its body is mostly white with the edge of its feathers blackish. It’s not certain whether it’s male or female. It does not seem to have a bird ring.
Previously a flamingo that escaped from Okinawa Zoo during a typhoon in 1999 reportedly lived for more than two years at Awase tidal flats in Okinawa City, and another pink flamingo also lived here for a number of years after escaping from Nago Neo Park. However, the Okinawa Zoo does not have a flamingo now.