Why are flamingos pink?

Question

Why are flamingos pink?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Flamingoes get their PINK colour from the algae that they eat in the water. Thats a well know fact.

Flamingos filter-feed on brine shrimp. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they eat, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. The flamingo's characteristic pink colouring is caused by the Beta carotene in their diet. The source of this varies by species, but shrimp and blue-green algae are common sources; zoo-fed flamingos may be given food with the additive canthaxanthin, which is often also given to farmed salmon.Flamingos produce a "milk" like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin (see Columbidae). It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed!

Color
Young flamingos hatch with grey plumage, but adults range from light pink to bright red due to aqueous bacteria and beta carotene obtained from their food supply. A well-fed, healthy flamingo is more vibrantly coloured and thus a more desirable mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or malnourished. Captive flamingos are a notable exception; many turn a pale pink as they are not fed carotene at levels comparable to the wild. This is changing as more zoos begin to add prawns and other supplements to the diets of their flamingos.


Hope this answers your question. lol

Sorry but im a bird fanatic.... So i read up on them alot.

Heres the link that i got the information from :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamingo

Source(s):

Own over 300 birds

Answer 2

Because they eat a lot of Shrimp.

Also a fun fact: There are more plastic flamingos in the USA then real ones!

Answer 3

They're primary diet is shrimp. When they eat the shrimp, the pigment in the shrimp transfers to the flamingo. So, the more shrimp, the more pink the flamingo.

Answer 4

From the amount of brine shrimp they eat. Turns their feathers orange

Answer 5

cause they eat pink shrimp...

Answer 6

Feather color varies with species, ranging from pale pink to crimson or vermilion. Caribbean flamingos have the brightest coloration: crimson or vermilion. The Chilean flamingo is pale pink.
A flamingo's pink or reddish feather color comes from its diet, which is high in alpha and beta-carotene. People eat beta-carotene when they eat carrots.


What do flamingos eat?
The typical flamingo diet consists of diatoms, seeds, blue-green alage, crustaceans, and mollusks they filter out of the water. Using their long legs and partially webbed feet, flamingos will stamp on the muddy bottom of lagoons to mix the food particles with the water. Different species of flamingo have slightly different shaped bills; the different shapes helping it obtain slightly different types of food. Flamingos drink fresh water.