Science: So Red the Flamingo

Before the war, the rose-red, strutting flamingos in the San Antonio zoo lived high: their special diet contained fresh shrimps and dried flies imported from Mexico. Then the zoo got economical. The flamingos were fed a wartime porridge of dog meal and vegetables. Their color slowly faded from red to dirty white.

Last week the flamingos were getting their shrimps and dried Mexican flies again, and their feathers were already turning pink—demonstrating, said Zoo Director Fred Stark, how they owe their complexions to their diet. Within six months he expects the flamingos to be as red as they ever were.

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