Flamingos acquire their vivid coloration from the protein beta-carotene, which they ingest in brine shrimps, other invertebrates and algae, says Ellen Husain.
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This is broken down into carotenoid pigments, which passto 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.
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But what about blue-footed 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
