Flamingos are among a select few birds that feed their young directly from a secretion produced in their crop (throat), and even this ‘crop milk’ is bright pink. Though the pink coloration is most obvious in a flamingo’s plumage, the carotenoids also impregnate the bird’s tissues, skin, blood and even egg yolk. These flamboyant birds are adapted to collect and metabolise carotenoid pigments – the chemicals found in algae, crustaceans and microscopic plant materials that form tones of orange, red, yellow and pink. No – flamingos are pink on the inside, too. Is it just a flamingo’s feathers that are pink? The pinkest birds have the highest status in the colony as the bright colour shows that a particular individual is strong and good at finding food resources.ĭuring a colony’s breeding time, a high ranking individual will influence the rest of the flock to breed by changing its feather colour to a deeper pink, kick-starting the breeding rituals. ![]() A very pink flamingo walking along the beach in the Dominican Republic. The cause is excess melanin being produced by the flamingo, which is a condition occasionally seen in other birds as well. ![]() They could be different birds, but some experts think it's the same individual. It's not a new species, and it's been spotted twice - once in Israel and once in Cyprus. Tales of blue flamingos are completely false, but a single black flamingo has been seen. The bright colour of flamingo feathers is caused by the presence of carotenoid pigments found in the algae and crustaceans that make up the diet of a flamingo. What are the species of flamingo? Greater flamingo The distinctive greater flamingo is one of the most common species of flamingo/Credit: Getty Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo is a large species of flamingo which is closely related to the greater flamingo/Credit: Getty Lesser flamingo Large flock of lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) gathered on the small, shallow, alkaline-saline lake Lake Nakuru/Credit: Getty Caribbean flamingo Also known as American flamingo, Caribbean flamingo are a bright pink colour/Credit: Getty Andean flamingo Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus), one of the rarest flamingos in the world/Credit: Getty Puna flamingo Puna also known as James Flamingos feeding Bolivian lake/Credit: Getty Why are flamingos pink? There are six flamingo species, including the greater flamingo, Chilean flamingo, lesser flamingo, Caribbean flamingo, Andean flamingo and puna flamingo. Orangutan guide: species facts, diet and best places to see.Elephant guide: species facts and best places to see in the wild. ![]()
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