The easiest way to distinguish James's flamingos is by their lighter-colored feathers and the bright yellow on their bills.

Their feathers acquire a pink color by the time they are around 2 or 3 years old, due to their carotene-rich diet.

When the birds are roosting, they face into the wind so that the rain will not blow upwards and soak the underside of their feathers.

[citation needed] Their plumage is pale pink, with bright carmine streaks around their necks and on their backs.

When they want to land, they repeat this process in reverse, and as they touch down to a surface, they continue to run as they decelerate and stop flapping their wings.

[11] Both James's and Andean flamingos feed their chicks through an esophageal secretion that is regurgitated from the crop of the bird.

The S-shape is effective because it allows the head to be placed upright and the bottom of the bill to be placed as shallow or as deep as it pleases.

Both the Andean and James's flamingos have deep-keeled bills where the upper jaw is narrower than the lower.

The inner morphology of the beak is similar to that of the lesser flamingo, where the upper and lower jaws contain lamellae which filter the food.

In both the upper and lower jaw, the proximal portion of the bill contains lamellae that are ridge-like with a curvature and distal end become more like hooks.

Marginal and submarginal lamellae are found, and James's flamingo has the greatest number of both, which also means a smaller intermarginal distance is seen between them.

The birds are able to use their webbed feet to help kick up microscopic algae if not enough are floating in the water column.

[9] The female lays one egg on a cone-shaped nest made from mud, sticks, and other materials in the area.

It is smaller in size (length and breadth) compared to the other species, including the closely related Andean flamingo.

When newly hatched, the chick's bill is straight and red, but later develops a curve and the adult colors of beak.

In local culture, stealing the eggs from the nest and sell them was common practice, but since then, measures have been taken to control this.