# Colibri is the man! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 16, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830 "2013-04-16T12:45:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830/1 "2013-04-16T12:45:10Z")
Mad props to Colibri, star of the currently featured column on [why flamingos are pink](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2305/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps)! (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.) ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830/2 "2013-04-16T21:56:14Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Mad props to Colibri, star of the currently featured column on [why flamingos are pink](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2305/are-flamingos-pink-because-they-eat-shrimps)! > > (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. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830/3 "2013-04-17T00:38:50Z")
On QI they said the whole “flamingos are pink because they eat pink shrimp” [was boooooogus](http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=4721#4721). [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? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830/4 "2013-04-17T01:23:43Z")
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?” ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colibri-is-the-man/655830/5 "2013-04-17T02:38:33Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > On QI they said the whole “flamingos are pink because they eat pink shrimp” [was boooooogus](http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=4721#4721). > 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](http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-flamingo.html): > [@](#): > > 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]