The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #172661   Message #4189931
Posted By: Raggytash
07-Sep-23 - 12:22 PM
Thread Name: BS: bring on the flamingos
Subject: RE: BS: bring on the flamingos
"Flamingos are white but do turn pink based on the pH of the water."

More abject nonsense.

Brittanica states

"The bright pink color of flamingos comes from beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment that’s found in high amounts within the algae, brine fly larvae, and brine shrimp that flamingos eat in their wetland environment. In the digestive system, enzymes break down carotenoids into pigments that are absorbed by fats in the liver and deposited, for flamingos, in the feathers and skin. To actually color those external attributes, carotenoids must be ingested in very large amounts. Because the flamingo diet is nearly exclusively carotenoid-filled delicacies, the birds have no problem coloring themselves."