Sam Fried Sam FriedSam Fried has seen and photographed almost all North American birds. Meet Sam Previous Answers

One bird species comes right to mind: the Greater Flamingo. In the wild, these long-legged wading birds generally inhabit vast mud flats and saltwater lagoons along isolated tropical coastlines. Although they can be found from the Caribbean to South America and even the Galapagos Islands, their diet mainly consists of carotene rich assortment of brine flies and their larvae, brine shrimp, tiny fish, and a variety of algal material. The carotene provides the necessary ingredient for a flamingo's feathers to be bright rosy pink. When their diet changes due to a shift in the food source and the new food lacks carotene, the color of the bird's feathers becomes very dull pink or even white.

Flamingos are widely kept in captivity, in zoos, ornamental avian displays and even in the infield at several Florida racetracks! Zoologists determined that by adding a generous supply of carrot juice to their diet, this provided enough carotene to keep their feathers in good color. If you have ever seen an adult captive flamingo that was white or dull pink, it probably was not getting sufficient carotene. However, note that all immature flamingos are paler and grayer until they reach maturity after several years.

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