Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Did You Know Why Flamingoes are Pink?

Did you know why flamingoes are pink?

I had often heard it is because they eat shrimp, which causes the flamingo's feathers to turn shrimpy-colored. This is partly true. I learned today that algae also causes the coloring of the feathers. The algae contains carotenoids which are found in carrots. Both of these mainstays of the flamingo diet are what causes the pinkish-orangish coloring of the mature flamingo's feathers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, that will make me stay away from those algae, but I'll take chances on the shrimp.

silken said...

me too! we had a shrimp feast last weekend at my parent's house. don't know how much longer we will be able to get shrimp and/or if it will get too expensive.