What makes Flamingo's pink?

Answer 1

They are always blushing. You know, how would you feel in public standing on one leg all the time? Eh? And in the raw, too.

Answer 2

Flamingoes are pink because they metabolize carotinoids in their diet into a substance called canthaxanthin. Carotinoids include beta-carotine, the orange vitamin A producing dietary suppliment.

The canthaxanthin is pretty cool. In some places in the world, it is used as a tanning pill. It is a carotinoid, but is brownish, and more cosmetically acceptable. You can consume vast quantities of carrot juice, or carotine pills and turn unnatural shades, or you can take canthaxanthin and turn brown! AND get protection from the sun's damaging rays!

Canthaxanthin is sold as a brown food color (what food would anyone want to turn brown?), but has been used by lots of people to get tan without UV rays.

[Most of this remembered (poorly) from _Life Extention_ by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw. I read it in high school, 20 years ago, and have waited to be asked this question, although, when drunk enough, I'll volunteer it as trivia!]

Answer 3

Flamingos are pink because they eat tiny shrimp and other crustasceans.

Answer 4

What Makes A Flamingo Pink

Answer 5

Chemicals in the chitin of the shellfish they eat. Flamingos are born white, and sometimes revert to white plumage in captivity due to diet.

Answer 6

the shrimp they eat. you can tell a flamingo with a poor diet if they are white.

Answer 7

Krilly-Shrimps!

Answer 8

in the wild it's the shrimp/crill that they get from the mud, in most captive facilities their is not enough circulation in the water for the crill and shrimp to survive so they eat pellets like hampster pellets that have red dye. it's basically just a chemical reaction in their body.

Answer 9

Pink is the only color of light reflected off of them.

Answer 10

Yep...it's because they only eat shrimp