This is Bird Note.

If we think of pink birds, flamingos and spoon bills might come to mind.

But gulls and turns can also have glowing pink breasts.

We picture these seaside birds decked out in their standard colors of gray, white, and

black.

Yet several gull and turn species greet spring with a rosy blush on their breasts.

Franklin's gulls, flying north to nest in the prairie wetlands, blow reddish pink below,

flashy enough that in the 19th century the bird was known as Franklin's rosy gall.

The laughing gall, common along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, may also show a sefusion of pink.

The pinkest of all this group are rosy at turns, which have some pink all year, but

reach their showiest at the start of the breeding season.

This is true of all pink breasted gulls.

The rosy glow, present in both males and females, may signal that the birds are ready to

pair up and begin breeding and nesting.

That pink blush ultimately comes from pigments in the bird's food, called keratinnoids.

These naturally occurring pigments may enhance their success at attracting a mate and help

foster the next generation of the rosy breasted.

For bird note, I'm Mary McCann.

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