# Are flamingos pink because they eat shrimps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 22, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280 "2015-04-22T13:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![david\_42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@david\_42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/david_42)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/1 "2015-04-22T13:35:36Z")
Might want to update this, because “However, a few studies have found that people who take beta-carotene supplements may have a higher risk for conditions such as cancer and heart disease” and “There is also some evidence that when smokers and people who are exposed to asbestos take beta-carotene supplements, their risk of lung cancer goes up.” > **[Page Is No Longer Available](https://www.umms.org/ummc/hl)** ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/2 "2015-04-22T15:19:48Z")
They aren’t really pink. When viewed properly, they’re really blue and black, not pink. See “[What color is this flamingo?](http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Untitled-12.jpg)” ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/3 "2015-04-22T16:11:39Z")
the column likely is > **[Are flamingos pink because they eat shrimps?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343443/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps)** ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/4 "2015-04-22T19:15:35Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > They aren’t really pink. When viewed properly, they’re really blue and black, not pink. See “[What color is this flamingo?](http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Untitled-12.jpg)” Not that damned dress, _again_? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/5 "2015-04-24T17:57:10Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > They aren’t really pink. When viewed properly, they’re really blue and black, not pink. See “[What color is this flamingo?](http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Untitled-12.jpg)” I’ve heard people seriously insist that blue jays “aren’t really blue” since their feathers don’t contain any blue pigment. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/6 "2015-04-24T18:22:31Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I’ve heard people seriously insist that blue jays “aren’t really blue” since their feathers don’t contain any blue pigment. Well, this is what Wikipedia says about it" > [@](#): > > As with most other blue-hued birds, the blue jay’s colouration is not derived from pigments but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers;[16] if a blue feather is crushed, the blue disappears because the structure is destroyed.[10] This is referred to as structural colouration. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/7 "2015-04-27T22:34:27Z")
Flamingos get their pink color from eating Communists. (Or is it the other way around?) ---
**Author:** ![FahKinell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FahKinell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FahKinell)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps/718280/8 "2015-05-02T14:10:01Z")
you would also be pink if you spent most of your life with head down between your ankles