Have you ever thought about why flamingos are pink and not any other animal? Me too. Most of us think that flamingos get it from the shrimp they consume, but actually flamingos and shrimp both get their pink color from something else. They get their color from algae that contains carotenoid pigments.
Flamingos are not able to make their own pigmented color like other birds that we see such as parrots, macaws, or even birds we see everyday. When flamingos are born, their feathers are actually a grey dull color. They don’t get their pink pigment until they start consuming shrimp.
This is because shrimp consume algae that have carotenoids. Carotenoids is an organic chemical that mainly gives off a yellow, red, or orange fat-soluble pigment. It is also what gives autumn leaves that we see every year.
Basically what happens is, the shrimp eat the algae that contain the carotenoids, which also give shrimp their pink color. Then flamingos eat the shrimp. The enzymes in the flamingos digestive system then break down the carotenoids. After it's broken down, the red-orange pigments are then absorbed by the fat in the flamingo’s liver and those fats are then secreted from their glands, giving their feathers and skin their pinkish color. But they can also lose their pink color depending on the amount of carotenoids they consume. So a flamingo's color really depends on their diet, whether they are able to consume an abundant amount of carotenoids or not.
-Selena Yim (4)
https://www.newscientist.com/question/why-are-flamingos-pink/
Hi Selena,
ReplyDeleteI guess that there is more to a flamingo then just eating shrimp. Usually, just as you mentioned, most people think that it’s because of only shrimp, I didn’t know that there was more to the process of the shrimp gaining their color.
Hi Selena,
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of why a flamingo was pink before, but this makes perfect sense. It is crazy that it goes through so many steps to get its color.
Thats super interesting! I've always wondered how they get their colors. I wonder if they ate a different colored food, would it have an impact on them if it interacted with its liver and glands in a similar way.
ReplyDelete-Charissa Yu
Actually, not all flamingos are pink. In different parts of the world, some flamingos are more red or have some sort of pattern on their feathers. But I do wonder what color they would be if this wasn't their main source of food.
DeleteI never knew this! I always thought it was because shrimp can become pink. How does the pink or gray color of a bird effect its life? Is there any evolutionary advantage to being pink?
ReplyDeleteI never thought about this! Every animal has an ordinary color, but I didn't even think about flamingos being pin. Knowing how they get the color was good information to know!
ReplyDelete- Lara Pereira
Hi there, I really liked the flow of your article and your topic is really interesting. I never questioned the color of flamingoes before but I was fascinated by the science of carotenoids you have provided here.
ReplyDelete- Tugba Kahveci
Thank you! Yeah, it's pretty cool for flamingos to be able to obtain their own color, they need to eat certain foods. And carotenoids are actually all around us and makes the colors of so many things we see everyday
DeleteI never really thought about the fact that flamingoes are the only mammals with pink pigmentation, and it's even more interesting to find out that they don't even produce it themselves and rather get it indirectly through algae. Reminds me of mercury buildup in large fish that are towards the top of the food chain.
ReplyDelete- David Miropolsky
This was really interesting to find out that flamingoes get their color from eating shrimp. Do you think if flamingoes were to change their diet to not eating shrimp they would stay gray? This would be an interesting experiment
ReplyDeleteIf flamingos were to eat less shrimp, it actually is possible for them to lose their pink color and go back to their original gray color because they need the abundant amount of carotenoids in their system to have their pigmented color
DeleteWow, that's so cool! I've always thought that flamingoes were born pink. I had no idea that their pigment were dependent on what they ate.
ReplyDelete-Morianna Saint-Cyr