Colibri is the man!

[JKellyMap]

Mad props to Colibri, star of the currently featured column on why flamingos are pink!

(He’s said before he doesn’t mind being “outed”. Please forgive me, and delete this thread, if he’s changed his mind about this.)

[colonial]

@JKellyMap

Mad props to Colibri, star of the currently featured column on why flamingos are pink!

(He’s said before he doesn’t mind being “outed”. Please forgive me, and delete this thread, if he’s changed his mind about this.)

You know something?- I could very easily imagine Colibri prancing around in a pink flamingo costume.

[Askance]

On QI they said the whole “flamingos are pink because they eat pink shrimp” was boooooogus.

[QUOTE=QI forum]
The vivid red plumage of flamingoes comes,oddly enough, from eating blue-green algae, not from eating pink shrimps.

The algae is rich in carotenoid pigments (similar to that found in carrots).
[/QUOTE]

Presumably the shrimp are pink because they eat the same food. Now I know that’s not an authoritative source, but is there any comment on this?

[Gagundathar]

I can’t imagine ever using this sentence in any context, except here.
“Edith, what are you feeding that tapeworm of yours to give it that healthy glow?”

[Darwin_s_Finch]

@Askance

On QI they said the whole “flamingos are pink because they eat pink shrimp” was boooooogus.
Presumably the shrimp are pink because they eat the same food. Now I know that’s not an authoritative source, but is there any comment on this?

Some flamingos eat shrimp, some eat algae. See, for example, here:

Their pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans that the birds eat.
[…]
The flamingo feeds by sucking water and mud in at the front of its bill and then pumping it out again at the sides. Here, briny plates called lamellae act like tiny filters, trapping shrimp and other small water creatures for the flamingo to eat. The smaller puna Phoenicopparrus jamesi, Andean Phoenicopparrus andinus, and lesser flamingos Phoeniconaias minor have deeper bills and stiff lamellae. This helps them filter very fine particles, such as algae, through their bill and keep bigger particles out. Caribbean, greater Phoenicopterus ruber**, and Chilean flamingos** Phoenicopterus chilensis are larger and feed mostly on invertebrates such as brine flies, shrimps, and mollusks.

[bolding mine]