Trivia 8 of 10
8. Flamingos are not born pink
Flamingo chicks hatch grey or whitish. The pink comes from their food: pigments in the algae and tiny crustaceans they eat gradually colour their feathers.
The colour that comes from the plate
The pigments responsible for the colour are called carotenoids, the same family as the compound that makes carrots orange. The flamingo filters water through its beak and eats microscopic algae and crustaceans such as brine shrimp, which are rich in these pigments. During digestion, the body absorbs the carotenoids and deposits them in the feathers that are growing.
That is why the colour takes time to appear. New feathers gradually replace the old ones, and a chick takes about two to three years to reach the adult pink. The intensity varies: where the food contains more pigment, flamingos look brighter, almost red in some regions.
If the diet lacks these pigments, the colour fades in the feathers that grow afterwards. In zoos, keepers add carotenoids to the feed precisely so the flamingos keep their pink. Colour also matters in courtship: more colourful birds tend to attract more partners.
Flamingos feed upside down. They dip their beak head-first into the water, and a sieve-like structure along the edge of the beak holds back algae and small animals, while water and mud flow out at the sides.
Did you know? Flamingos often rest standing on one leg. Studies suggest this posture is stable and requires little muscular effort, and one hypothesis is that it helps conserve body heat.
