At the zoo, Rocket stares at a flock of bright pink flamingos. A fluffy chick stands nearby. It is white!
"Is that chick a different kind of bird?" Rocket asks.
Raven checks the sign. "It is a flamingo too. What do you notice about its food?"
Nova hovers by the pond. "Think about what goes into the bird," she says. "Then think about its color."
Last week you learned that offspring inherit traits from their parents.
But some traits also depend on the environment.
The environment is everything around a living thing, like food, water, light and soil.
Flamingos are a great example.
A pigment in their food gives their feathers a pink color. A pigment is a substance that gives color.
Flamingo chicks hatch covered in white fluffy feathers. It takes several years for them to turn pink.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The environment includes food and water. | ? |
| Flamingos hatch bright pink. | ? |
| Food can affect a trait like feather color. | ? |
A flamingo chick inherits being a flamingo from its parents.
But its pink color does not come only from its parents.
It comes from a pigment in the food it eats.
The chick hatches white. Over several years, its food turns its feathers pink.
| Part of the environment? | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Water | ? |
| Light | ? |
| Soil | ? |
| A gene from a parent | ? |
Amazing birds! Tomorrow we find out how light changes the way plants grow.