A large, long-legged, long-necked bird that is pink, red, or white with black wingtips, and has a bare face and large bill that is bent sharply downwards at the mid-point. Flamingos use the bill upside-down to capture and filter out the brine shrimps and cyanobacteria on which they feed. Flamingos inhabit shallow lakes in fresh or salt water. They belong to the genus Phoenicopterus (family Phoenicopteridae), with two species found in the Old World, in southern Europe, parts of Africa, and southern and south-eastern Asia, and four species found in the New World, in Central and South America and the Caribbean islands.