[5][6] The flamingo has a pale pink body with brighter upperparts, deep vinaceous-pink lower neck, breast, and wing coverts.

Fossils attributed to Andean Flamingo have been found at the Salar de Atacama border and roughly date to the Early Formative period, approximately 3,000 to 2,200 BP.

[8] These flamingos are filter feeders and their diet ranges over the entire spectrum of available foods, from fish to invertebrates, from vascular plants to microscopic algae.

This Andean flamingo is native to the wetlands of the high Andes mountain range from southern Peru to northwestern Argentina and northern Chile.

[14] The path of migration is unknown, but it is thought to occur between the Chilean breeding grounds and the wetlands of central and western Argentina.

The Andean flamingo is considered a vulnerable species due to the mining business and human disturbances causing changes in its habitat.

The primary threat to the flamingo population is mining excavations, which occur at the end of the summer rainy season.

[17] A study on the mining environment determined as little as 5 g of borax can produce adverse effects in animal populations, but human workers remain unaffected at these levels.

[13] The decreased reproductive success may be due to borax exposure or to an altered environment caused by bulldozers disturbing the lake bed.

[16] Surveys conducted on residents near the mining activities report sightings of dead flamingos exhumed by the bulldozers.

In Argentina, the rarest species of flamingo is primarily found in northern provinces (Salta, Catamarca, and Jujuy) during warmer months, as well as in low-lying areas of the central region, mainly Córdoba and Santa Fe.

The National Mining Secretariat reports 38 lithium projects across the country, with 17 situated in the vast salt flats of Salta province.

[18] Biologists and conservationists have raised concerns about the negative impacts of lithium brine extraction on areas where these birds reproduce and feed.

[14] The exportation process is conducted mainly in the Altiplano, which is an area that has deep cultural roots in egg poaching.

[16] In the area of study, the common people raise llamas and alpacas, which offer a higher content of protein than flamingo eggs.

[16] The development of new infrastructure has caused severe fragmentation of the lake, diminishing the biodiversity, and increasing the possibility of extinction for all species.

[16] The plan consists of an environmental education strategy to inform businessmen, workers, villagers, and any other people who pose as a threat to the flamingos.

[16] Local authorities in the Salinas Lake district have created an outpost to prevent illicit actions and to find possible solutions to present problems.

[10] In 2000, this group conducted a census that revealed a total population less than 34,000 Andean flamingos, giving them the label of most rare species.

[10] Recently, this group has joined sides with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to create an action plan for the flamingos.

[10] A meeting was held in Miami, Florida, in 2000 to develop a group to control an action place to protect the six species and subspecies of flamingos.

The MoU aims to improve the conservation status of the species and their habitats through coordinated and concerted actions across the range.