Would a flamingo turn blue if it ate blue food?
Flamingos acquire their vivid coloration from the protein beta-carotene, which they ingest in brine shrimps, other invertebrates and algae. This is broken down into carotenoid pigments, which pass to the skin and feathers. While flamingo plumage can vary from white to orange or pink, it’s unlikely you will ever see a blue individual. Blue pigments are scarce in nature, and in the case of anthocyanins – which give blackcurrants, red cabbage and blue corn their colour – appear to be broken down in the body. But what about bluefooted boobies, don’t they have blue skin? According to Italian biologist Dr Alberto Velando, who has studied their glorious feet: “Booby blue is due to collagen fibres in the skin. Light interacts with collagen fibre in a special manner to produce blue spectra.” Boobies are not alone: most blue colours in the natural world are structural – for instance, down to the design of feathers or skin. And so, the answer to the question is, probably, no. EH