Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Carotenoid pigments in brine shrimp and algae color flamingo feathers. The figure is taken from San Diego Zoo, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a animals fact?

Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Flamingos are born grey and turn pink from their food

Carotenoid pigments in brine shrimp and algae color flamingo feathers.

Flamingo chicks hatch with grey downy feathers and pale legs. Their iconic pink and orange coloration develops gradually over two years as digestive enzymes break down carotenoid pigments found in their staple diet of blue-green algae and small crustaceans.

Flickr - Rainbirder - Born of Fire — Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · licence · source

Where this comes from

San Diego Zoo

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: flamingo, birds, feathers

Flamingos are born grey and turn pink from their food: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Carotenoid pigments in brine shrimp and algae color flamingo feathers. The figure is taken from San Diego Zoo, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a animals fact?: Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.