14 DAY TRIAL // There are a whole lot of splendidly colored animals out there, and flamingos are by far among the absolute coolest of the bunch. Still, ever stop to wonder why these birds are pink rather than some other color?
Well, as it turns out, flamingos are actually born gray. As they age, however, their feathers begin to change color and turn pink. This happens because of their diet. That's right, it's their favorite foods that color them.
Despite their impressive body size, flamingos are in the habit of feasting on teeny tiny creatures like shrimp, clams and even algae. The algae and the shrimp these birds are especially fond of contain reddish-orange pigments.
These naturally occurring pigments are called carotenoids, and when consumed by flamingos, they accumulate inside the birds. More precisely, studies have shown that they build up in the flamingos' fat deposits.
As more fats spiked with carotenoids become incorporated into the birds' feathers, the color of their plumage changes to pink. Usually, it takes about 2 to 3 years for a young flamingo to turn this color.
Interestingly, it appears that we humans can also change the color of our skin ever so slightly simply by changing our diet. Thus, those of us who suddenly decide to overdose on carrots can turn an orange hue.
As is the case with flamingos, this change in color would be no more and no less than the result of an accumulation of carotenoids in our body.
