When flamingos are born, they have gray or white soft downy feathers. They are not born with their iconic pink color, which they acquire gradually over time. The reason why flamingos are pink is due to their diet of algae, brine shrimp, and crustaceans, which are rich in carotenoids, a red-orange pigment that is absorbed by fats in the liver and deposited in the feathers and skin. The concentration of carotenoids in their diet determines the intensity of their pink color. Flamingos are one of the few birds that feed their young with crop milk, which is a highly nutritious bright pink secretion made in an adult’s throat, and is so densely packed with carotenoids that when breeding season is over both male and female parents often appear white, losing the pink coloration from their feathers.