Wild flamingos, as well as correctly fed captive ones, have distinctive colored feathers that range from bright red to pink. This coloring is due to certain pigments contained in the flamingos' diet and is not permanent. If these pigments are absent from their diet, flamingos will lose the coloring when changing feathers, becoming white or gray.
Feather Coloring
There are basically two ways that bird feathers get their colors. In some cases, it is caused by the small-scale structure of the feathers that scatters and reflects the different wavelengths in sunlight. In others, and the flamingo is an example of this, the coloring is from pigments that absorb some wavelengths in light and reflect others. The color we see is the one that corresponds to the reflected wavelengths.
Carotenoid Pigments
Carotenoids are a group of colored chemical substances ("pigments") that are abundant in the natural world. They help give color to carrots, tomatoes, grapefruits, salmon flesh and dead leaves. They are also present in shrimp and other crustaceans. In many cases, carotenoids are associated with other molecules that mask their color. If these molecules are destroyed, the carotenoids become more apparent. Examples of this are cooked and raw shrimp, and dead and live leaves. In both examples the red coloring is there all the time, but not necessarily evident due to the presence of other substances.
Flamingo Diet
In the wild, flamingos eat a diet that is rich in small crustaceans, insects and red algae. This diet is rich in carotenoids, even if they are not always apparent. The flamingos metabolize any associated molecules and transform the carotenoid pigments into one in particular, called canthaxanthin, which is the specific pigment that gives flamingo feathers their red hue.
Flamingo Color
The exact coloration of a flamingo depends on its age and its species. Young flamingos are white or gray, and it takes them approximately two years to achieve their adult coloration, provided they have an adequate supply of carotenoids. In adults, the coloration ranges from pale pink in the Chilean flamingo to crimson in the Caribbean flamingo. Their legs also vary in color, ranging from yellow to red.
In Captivity
Although captive flamingos used to lose their distinctive red color when fed a man-made diet, nowadays pigments are added to ensure that they keep their coloration. In addition, great care is generally taken to furnish their habitats with a realistic feeding source so they can eat the same way they do in the wild: taking food-rich water into their beaks and pumping it out while retaining the food.
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