Hello Rick - great birdie post!
An interesting thing that I learned about flamingos in captivity is that they have to be given a special diet in order to maintain their bright colors.Well, feeding them pigment is the "cheap" way to do it. In nature, they eat among other things a lot of shrimp, but that natural food might be too expensive to maintain at a zoo.
For flamingos, the phrase “You are what you eat” holds more truth than it might for humans. The bright pink color of flamingos comes from beta carotene, a red-orange pigment that’s found in high numbers within the algae, larvae, and brine shrimp that flamingos eat in their wetland environment.Quote source: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-flamingos-pink
Interestingly, humans can turn orange from eating too much beta carotene. It's called carotenemia. Not sure if I spelled that right! I should know, because I've given it to myself several times from eating excessive amounts of turmeric and drinking many liters of carrot juice over an extended period.
I was freaking out for a while (thought I had jaundice) but then I figured out what it was, and cut down on the juice. It went away after 2 weeks. Makes you wonder.. Maybe Trump should eat more beta-carotene so he doesn't need to orange makeup. haha!
🤣 Trump - you took the words right out of my mouth! That was the first thing I thought of when I read the article. I am almost tempted to experiment with carrot juice. My grandmother always said carrots improve your eyesight.