Flamingos get their pink coloring from carotenoids—pigments of yellow, orange, and red—in their food, but they cannot take on other colorations because their bodies cannot process other pigments.

Water is naturally tinted with a slight blue, but sediments and organics can alter its color

The innate coloration comes from water absorbing red light in the visible spectrum more than green or blue, giving shallow waters in some parts of the Caribbean their turquoise hue. If sand is light, it can be churned up by turbulent water, clouding its appearance. Plankton and other organisms can color water by affecting how the rest of the spectrum is absorbed or reflected.

Starting with red, colorful objects will appear to lose their colors the deeper they are submerged because water scatters light, reducing the amount available to reflect off objects and be observed.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—photosynthetic algae that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

Biofluorescent animals—those that absorb light, such as ultraviolet rays, and re-emit other types of light, such as neon green—include some flying squirrels, scorpions, sea turtles, and platypuses.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Blood color differs across the animal kingdom, with some animals producing blood that appears green (a group of lizards in New Guinea) or blue (horseshoe crabs).

Chameleons change color by altering the spacing of nanocrystals under their skin, which changes what colors of light are absorbed and reflected.

View a gallery of biofluorescent animals, which contain cells that emit various colors when exposed to ultraviolet light.

View a gallery of plants made to shine using ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence photography, in which organisms re-emit the ultraviolet light they are exposed to in vibrant, glowing colors.

Some corals absorb harmful ultraviolet radiation and re-emit it as visible light, thereby protecting symbiotic algae within their tissues and providing them with energy for photosynthesis.

Molecules derived from algae can be found in foods such as ice cream, salad dressings, brownie mix, and gravies, as well as in products such as toothpaste, multivitamins, and egg substitutes.

'Watermelon snow'—patches of pink, orange, and red in snow—is the result of extremophilic green algae that thrive in extremely frigid conditions and take the shape of red spheres in winter.

When processing light, the brain can perceive colors with no natural wavelength

While some animals are sensitive to many forms of light, humans possess receptors that are sensitive to red, green, and blue wavelengths. These receptors send signals to the brain, which are processed and mixed to produce the array of colors we observe, including magenta, pink, and "supercolors" that lack a corresponding natural wavelength in the visible spectrum.

How the pigments that absorb light for photosynthesis contribute to plants' green color

Although light energy is captured to power the reactions that produce the building blocks of starch, cellulose, glucose, and other sugars, chlorophyll a and b are most sensitive to violet, blue, orange, and red light, leaving green light mostly unabsorbed. This green light is instead reflected, giving most plants this color appearance.

During coral bleaching, corals sacrifice their food source and expel colorful microorganisms to protect themselves, a phenomenon that resembles an organism's immune system attacking itself.

Virtually all plants are biofluorescent because their photosynthesis is powered by chlorophyll, a pigment that glows red as a way to get rid of excess energy when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Polar bears have black skin to better absorb warmth from the sun, but their transparent, hollow hairs scatter and reflect light so that they appear white.

Pigments in paint can come from rocks, plants, insects or synthetic sources

Paint's composition is varied through the combination of pigments with binding agents. In the past, artists created their own paints by mixing pigments with water, oils or egg yolks to bind the colors together.

During the fall, shorter days trigger cells in leaves to produce less chlorophyll, a green pigment that is typically present in sufficient concentrations to mask other pigments, such as yellow and orange.

In the 1950s, Alan Turing developed a mathematical model to explain why animals have stripes, spots, and other patterns based on differences in how quickly two interacting chemicals spread throughout a developing organism.

Some female fireflies mimic the signals of other species to lure in and eat them

The genus Photuris does not produce its own defensive pheromones to ward off predators, so it has developed mimicry to attract males of firefly species that do. Unsuspecting males are consumed after these chemicals—lucibufagins—are extracted.

Over 1 million fish, marine mammals, and invertebrate species depend on coral reefs for habitats, camouflage, and food.

From glands beneath their skin, hippos produce their own sunscreen in the form of a fluid containing hipposudoric and norhipposudoric acids, which absorb sunlight in the ultraviolet and visible range.

Blood has evolved many times over hundreds of millions of years, resulting in different blood colors and compositions—and there are even some organisms that don't need blood at all.

Reindeers are the only known mammals whose eyes change color with the seasons, going from golden yellow in the summer to deep blue in the winter.

What is the rarest color in nature?

Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature's rarest spectacles.

The cells of spotted salamander embryos and early-stage larvae harbor algae that support embryonic development by increasing oxygen levels and removing waste.

Blacklights can illuminate certain biological materials, including blood, teeth, and fingernails, because they contain fluorophores—molecules that visibly glow immediately after exposure to higher-energy light.

Without liver bile, human poop would be a pale silver color

Stomach acid and enzymes break down food into smaller particles, expelling a semi-fluid mass called chyme into the small intestine, where bile is added. As the intestines absorb nutrients and water, the chyme solidifies and changes color.

The history of iconic pigments used in seven famous paintings

While art paints can be bought by the bucket at any craft store today, pigments throughout history have been difficult to come by. Art historian Kelly Grovier traces the fascinating history of pigments that make up hidden layers in masterpieces from Picasso and Hokusai’s Prussian Blue to Vermeer’s shade of red.

Proteins with limited light sensitivity prevent humans from seeing all types of light

Specialized photoreceptor cells in the retina called cones each possess photopigments that activate when exposed to three ranges of visible light. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation outside the activation range do not generate signals for processing in the brain, thereby limiting average human vision to approximately 10 million colors.

Fireflies light up to provide mating signals and warnings to predators

Variations in the illumination patterns and flight paths while emitting light have been observed across firefly species. Some species instead rely on pheromones if they are primarily active during the day or have lost the ability to illuminate.

Because it is observed in organisms that are not closely related, biofluorescence is thought to have emerged independently many times in nature—over 100 in fish alone.

Discover the chemistry behind smoking foods, including the types of smoking and the source of smoking flavors and colors.

The 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded for discovering and developing uses for green fluorescent protein—a biomolecule found in Aequorea victoria, a jellyfish native to the Pacific Northwest.

Instead of consuming water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and sugar, anoxygenic photosynthesis involves alternative reactants and products.

Aerial photos of red tide off the Gulf Coast

The toxic algae grows naturally in warmer oceans in small amounts and is typically harmless. With extended warm periods and unusually-high additions of nutrients from run-off, the algae blooms extensively, posing health risks to wildlife and humans...

Massive blooms of microscopic algae called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Why 75% of ocean animals glow

About 75% of ocean creatures can make their own light. It's called bioluminescence—and it all comes down to a special chemical reaction happening inside their bodies.

A diamond's color comes from impurities, defects, and unique formation processes

While most diamonds are transparent and sparkly, the presence of nitrogen and boron during formation can make them yellow, orange, or blue. Radiation can produce green diamonds, and structural deformities can introduce red hues.

Bioluminescent organisms produce their own light through chemical reactions involving unstable, energetic molecules, while biofluorescent organisms almost immediately re-emit light shone on them, but at a different wavelength.

Picasso had several distinct periods

Picasso was known for his ever-evolving style, which art historians have often divided into his artistic periods. Warmer color palettes and subjects characterized his Pink Period (sometimes called the Rose Period). Other phases focused on neoclassical, surrealist, and mythological art and subjects. Below is Family of Saltimbanques from the Pink Period.

The creator of 'The Simpsons' made his characters yellow so they would contrast with everything else on TV.

Explore the chemical compounds found in fireworks

Besides the various salts and metals used to produce fireworks colors, shells are also filled with gunpowder and oxidizers to help fuel and accelerate reactions. Chlorates help strengthen colors, while dextrin, a starch, helps hold mixtures together.

Catfish have taste buds spread across their entire skin, making their whole body function like a tongue that can taste food several feet away.

What we can learn from how penguins express affection

Pebbling, a term used to describe small acts of love within a relationship, comes from penguins. Male gentoo penguins, a species of penguin that lives on sub-Antarctic islands, present pebbles to their potential mates later used to build nests. This small but helpful act is something we humans can learn from. Think of the “pebbles” you can share with loved ones on a daily basis.

Cats have a mutation that prevents them from tasting sweetness, and goldfish rank among the world's supertasters.

Explore a gallery of tardigrades

Although sometimes called moss piglets, tardigrades are most often white or clear with some dark pigments. Tardigrades only move by crawling, not swimming, and depictions of organisms with caved-in heads or other coloration result from sample preparation for microscopes.

Eggshell color doesn't indicate taste or superiority

Brown, white, and blue eggs taste and cook identically. Despite popular notions that brown eggs are superior, the shell color reflects the genetics of the hen alone. What actually determines egg quality is freshness and the diet of the hen (where grass and leafy greens lead to denser yolks). And freshness can go both ways: older eggs peel more easily than fresh ones.

How David Attenborough's work in color television gave tennis balls their color

As controller of BBC Two, Attenborough wanted the BBC to achieve the first full-color broadcast in Europe and saw Wimbledon as the perfect event to make it happen. Noticing that the white tennis balls used then would stain green and become less visible on color broadcasts as matches progressed, he suggested fluorescent balls, which were eventually adopted.