QuestionAmerican flamingo
Why Are Flamingos Pink? Diet, Pigments and Feather Color
Flamingos are pink because of what they eat. Their food, mainly brine shrimp, other tiny crustaceans and microscopic algae, is rich in red and orange pigments called carotenoids. A flamingo’s body processes these pigments and deposits them in its growing feathers, skin, legs and bill. No pigment in the diet means no pink.
Contents
Where does the pink come from?
Carotenoids are natural pigments made by plants, algae and some bacteria. They give carrots, tomatoes and autumn leaves their color. Animals cannot make carotenoids themselves, so any animal with carotenoid colors has to get them from food.
In the salty lagoons where flamingos feed, single-celled algae and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are packed with carotenoids. Brine shrimp, brine fly larvae and other small animals eat the algae and store the pigments. Flamingos then filter both the algae and the small animals out of the water with their upside-down bills.
Enzymes in the flamingo’s liver convert the pigments they swallow, such as beta-carotene, into the forms that end up in their feathers, especially a red-orange carotenoid called canthaxanthin. The pigment is carried in the blood and laid down in each new feather as it grows.
Why are baby flamingos gray?
Flamingo chicks hatch with gray-white down, a straight bill and pink legs that soon turn dark gray. For the first months of life they are fed by their parents on crop milk and do not filter their own food. Even after that, they grow a gray-brown juvenile plumage.
Young flamingos turn pink slowly. Each time they molt, the new feathers carry more pigment from their diet. It takes about two to three years for a flamingo to reach full adult color, which is one reason why you often see grayish birds mixed into pink flocks.
Why are some flamingos pinker than others?
There are six flamingo species, and their colors differ partly because of genetics and partly because of what they eat:
| Species | Typical adult color |
|---|---|
| American flamingo | Deep salmon-pink to reddish all over |
| Greater flamingo | Mostly whitish pink, with bright pink wings |
| Chilean flamingo | Pale pink, with gray legs and pink “knees” |
| Lesser flamingo | Rose-pink, with a dark red bill |
| Andean and James’s flamingos | Pale pink with deeper pink or crimson patches |
Within a single species, color also varies from bird to bird. A well-fed, healthy flamingo usually has brighter feathers than a thin or sick one, and older adults tend to be brighter than young adults. Flamingos feeding mainly on blue-green algae can be deeply colored, while birds in lagoons with less pigment-rich food are paler.
Does being pink help flamingos?
Flamingos do not need pink feathers to survive, but color seems to matter during courtship. Brighter birds are generally better fed, so color can act as an honest signal of health. Studies of flamingo colonies have found that more brightly colored birds tend to start displaying and pair up earlier in the breeding season.
Greater flamingos even appear to apply “makeup”. The oil from the preen gland near the tail contains carotenoids, and researchers studying greater flamingos in Spain reported in 2011 that the birds rub this oil onto their neck, breast and back feathers more often during courtship, making them look pinker. The effect fades after the pairing season, when birds stop applying it as often.
Why do flamingo parents fade?
Both flamingo parents feed their chick crop milk, a fluid rich in fat and protein made by glands lining the upper digestive tract. This crop milk is red because it contains carotenoids from the parents’ own bodies.
Raising a chick therefore drains pigment from the adults. Over a long breeding season, parents often become visibly paler pink than flamingos that did not breed. They regain their color as they rebuild their reserves and grow new feathers.
How do zoos keep flamingos pink?
In the past, flamingos in zoos often faded to a pale pink or almost white, because their diet lacked the algae and brine shrimp they eat in the wild. Today, zoos feed them specially formulated pellets that contain carotenoid pigments, often canthaxanthin, along with the protein and minerals they need.
This works the same way as their wild diet: the pigment is absorbed, carried in the blood and deposited in new feathers. A flamingo moved onto a pigment-free diet does not turn white overnight, but each molt brings paler feathers.
Myths about pink flamingos
“Flamingos are pink only because they eat shrimp.” Shrimp are part of the story, but the original source is algae. Some flamingos, like the lesser flamingo, get most of their color directly from blue-green algae.
“Flamingos are born pink.” They are not; chicks are gray-white and juveniles gray-brown.
“A white flamingo is a different species.” Very pale flamingos are usually young birds, poorly fed birds, or adults that faded while raising chicks, not a separate kind. Flamingos are not the only animals colored by their food: the red of a male cardinal and the pink of wild salmon flesh also come from carotenoids.
For another famous flamingo puzzle, see why flamingos stand on one leg.
Frequently asked questions
Are flamingos born pink?
No. Flamingo chicks hatch covered in gray-white down and grow a dull gray-brown juvenile plumage. They only turn pink gradually over about two to three years as they replace their feathers and build up pigments from their food.
Do flamingos turn white if they stop eating shrimp?
They do not change overnight, because color is locked into each feather as it grows. But a flamingo that eats food poor in carotenoids grows paler feathers at each molt, so over months it fades toward pale pink or almost white.
What is the pinkest flamingo?
The American flamingo of the Caribbean is usually the most deeply colored, a rich reddish pink all over. The greater flamingo of Europe, Africa and Asia is the palest of the six species, mostly whitish pink with brighter pink wings.
Are flamingos pink because they eat shrimp?
Partly. Brine shrimp are an important food for many flamingos, and their color comes from the algae they eat. Some flamingos, especially the lesser flamingo of Africa, get most of their pigment directly from blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) rather than from shrimp.
How do zoos keep flamingos pink?
Zoos feed flamingos specially formulated food that contains carotenoid pigments, such as canthaxanthin, to replace the algae and tiny crustaceans they would eat in the wild. Without it, captive flamingos slowly fade to a pale pink.
Why do flamingo parents lose their color?
Flamingo parents feed their chick a red-tinted crop milk produced in their upper digestive tract, and this fluid carries carotenoid pigments out of their bodies. During a long breeding season, hard-working parents often become noticeably paler than birds that are not breeding.
Sources and further reading
- Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan), "Phoenicopterus ruber"
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Flamingo"
- Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, "American Flamingo"
Cite this page
“Why Are Flamingos Pink? Diet, Pigments and Feather Color.” Animal Atlas, https://animals.bigworldlist.com/questions/why-are-flamingos-pink/.
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