what color are flamingos when born

When flamingos are born, they have gray, white, or some combination of the two colors. They are not born with their iconic pink color, which they acquire gradually over time. It takes several years for flamingos to acquire their signature pink color and hook-shaped bills. Flamingos are not born pink because the pink color of their feathers is not a hereditary trait. Instead, the bright pink color of flamingos comes from beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment that’s found in high amounts within the algae, brine fly larvae, and brine shrimp that flamingos eat in their wetland environment. In the digestive system, enzymes break down carotenoids into pigments that are absorbed by fats in the liver and deposited, for flamingos, in the feathers and skin. The coloration of flamingos can vary because carotenoid levels in algae and crustaceans also vary across the world.