La Fuji Mama

Actually flamingos are not pink. Though it is their most famous quality the pink of the flamingo s feathers is not a hereditary trait.

Why Are Flamingos The Color Pink

The pink color mostly comes from the blue green algae that flamingos eat.

Why are flamingos pink. American flamingos are a brighter red color because of the beta carotene availability in their food while the lesser flamingos are a paler pink due to ingesting a smaller amount of this pigment. Beta carotene is also present in many plants but. Flamingos are pink because the algae they consume are loaded with beta carotene an organic chemical that contains a reddish orange pigment.

They are born with grey feathers which gradually turn pink in the wild because of a natural pink dye called canthaxanthin that they obtain from their diet of brine shrimp and blue green algae. With a name that derives from the spanish or portuguese word meaning flame colored the birds are known for their vibrant appearance. Baby flamingos are actually born with gray feathers.

Enzymes in the liver break down the carotenoids into the pink and orange pigment molecules that are absorbed by fats deposited in the feathers bill and legs of the flamingos. Flamingos in zoos would often lose most of their pink colouration until keepers started adding synthetic canthaxanthin to their diets. They weren t born that way though.

On the other hand flamingos that mostly feed on shrimp and other small critters that consume the algae tend to be less pink because the concentration of canthaxanthin related carotenoids they get is on a much smaller scale than other flamingos. For the most part these pigments are found in the brine shrimp and blue green algae that the birds eat. You ll find these particular flamingos in drier climates like lake nakuru in kenya.

It turns out that flamingos are not naturally pink. With vibrant pink and orange plumage that seems sunset inspired flamingos are some of the best dressed birds in the avian world. The algae is rich in a substance called carotenoids a pigment produced by many different kinds of plants and algae as well as some fungi and bacteria.

Flamingos are long legged wading birds that are usually covered in bright pink feathers. Their distinctive pink color develops over time thanks to their selective diet. Flamingos eat algae and crustaceans that contain pigments called carotenoids.

Carotenoid levels in algae and crustaceans vary in different parts of the. Flamingos colors can range from pale pink to crimson depending on the amount of pigment present in the bird s diet. Flamingos are pink or orange or white depending on what they eat.

So they must be born rosy right. Flamingos are so famous for their color that they ve even inspired their own hot pink lawn ornament. The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from carotenoids in their diet of animal and plant plankton.