h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not dark green.

Flamingos do feed on algae (Mal's " Little floaty things from the water") and it does turn their feather's pink.

It could be white, yes it could.

Toybox +3

Now the all important why?

They don't eat plankton.

It is white because...............

Keep out GT!!!!

OK!!!



GT

Don't let Yarreau see this thread, or she'll lecture me on paying more attention. (She's a biologist...)

Hearing voices? GT?

As I said to Bob earlier: I can be bribed - let's discuss terms...

Because God had infinite wisdom but only finitely many colour pencils. Hence, when making blueprints for His creation, what with flamingoes being the drawn towards the end, He didn't have any pink or red anymore to colour the birds' tongues.

For some reason no blood flows inside the tongue?

I think you just gave Richard Dawkins a heart attack.

Nope it's not that.

Maybe I can help broaden this out and help you towards the answer, by asking you what you think it's used for?

Look at the shape of the bill folks, and think!!!



GT


(And how they feed!!)

I wonder -- do you read French Clive?

Are flamingo tongues coated in some substance which has an independent function and which is white because it is white (like sugar or snow, though I wouldn't really epect flamingo tongues to be regularly coated in sugar or snow)

I can think of many reasons to use a tongue, which surely would be approved of by Ed the B.

Their feathers start out white, and their tongues start out pink. When their feathers turn pink, the white has got to go somewhere.

Or, of course, they live in highly alkaline conditions. Their tongues get bleached.

In the time it took me to write my last, four other posts appeared. The Flamingos bill is used for filtering. Is the tongue white coz it's made out of filter paper?

I can barely cope with English Toybox. Sorry.

Have a DGI for "Coated in something."

"The white has to go somewhere"

Creative. Wrong but creative.

"Bleaching."

Nope.

>In the time it took me to write my last, four other posts appeared. <

I confess, myself, amazed - 40 posts already!

>Is the tongue white coz it's made out of filter paper?<

No , but that is a better question - what is the white bit made out of?

DGI +1