\nThe change isn\u2019t permanent, after all, feathers are easily lost on a daily basis. If the birds stop eating the food that contains these pigments, their color will fade. If you ever see a fully-grown flamingo that\u2019s white or gray, that\u2019s the reason why.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/17111734\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-17-at-2.17.07-PM.jpg\")
Variations around the world<\/h2>\n
Finding two flamingos that are the exact same shade of pink can actually be a bit of a task, because their coloring isn\u2019t innate. Variations in the availability of food and the amount consumed are hugely impactful on how striking or subdued a flamingo\u2019s feathers will be.
\nOver in the Caribbean, flamingos feed on algae more than anything else, and therefore their feathers are more striking shades of pink, red or orange. Meanwhile, those in drier parts of the world – such as Africa – are much paler in color, because this source of food is less readily available.
\nFlamingos that are kept in zoos are given a specially-designed diet that includes crustaceans and additives. These chemicals provide a replacement for the natural ones they would normally find in their food outside of captivity to prevent their color from fading. After all, zoos want their flamingos to remain bright and eye-catching for all the visitors that pay money to see them.<\/p>\n
Human skin coloring<\/h2>\n
Beta-carotene, which is one of the additives used in a captive flamingo\u2019s diet, is also found in certain foods that humans eat too. Carrots, for instance, have traces of this chemical inside them, although they\u2019re not as effective at turning us orange the way a good spray tan is. This is because the amount of carrots it would take for our skin color to change is a lot more than we would dream of eating on a regular basis.<\/p>\n So there are some facts about flamingos that you might not have known. If you\u2019ve only ever seen them in the zoo, it\u2019s understandable why you might not have realized that their color isn\u2019t something that comes naturally. Now you know the truth, it might be worth going to see what these gorgeous creatures look like in some of their more natural habitats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Few animals catch the eye quite as much as the flamingo does. With their bright pink (or orange) feathers, they can easily be seen from a mile away, but have you ever wondered why they look this way? Unlike most animals, flamingos are not born the color that they grow up to be, and there\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":93679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,34,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-global","category-science"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/17111733\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-17-at-2.17.16-PM.jpg\")