“Isn’t it lucky that pigs don’t fly?”’ – It’s a common thing people say after getting ‘bombed’ by bird poop. Bird poop can be a real nuisance for some or a precious thing for others. In this article, we bring 20 interesting facts about bird poop that you didn’t know and funny bird poop memes for you to laugh at.
1- Why Do Birds Poop on Cars?
Birds poop a lot! They can poop every 15-60 minutes. Birds will poop especially when scared. Sudden noises can literally scare the crap out of them. That means they will poop while flying out of a place they were perching, such as a pole above your car.
2 – Why Is Bird Poop White?
Birds don’t produce urine. They excrete their waste through uric acid, which comes out as a white paste. This white paste doesn’t dissolve in water easily. That is the reason why bird poop looks like a white paste. Additionally, it is also the reason why they stick to car windshields life blobs of plaster.
Its green component is the feces and this comes from the intestines. As for the clear liquid portion, it is mainly something similar to urine and this also comes from the kidneys.
3 – Do birds poop and pee at the same time?
Unlike mammals such as us, birds don’t have a separate orifice for urine or poop. That means everything has to exit through an orifice called “cloaca” that works as a sphincter, which is also the same orifice used for reproduction.
Birds have evolved to reduce their body weight as much as possible, and one of these features is not having a regular bladder. In order to keep themselves light so they can fly, birds don’t store their urine as other animals do.
But in the end, they have a hard time keeping it closed. So, just like us, they eat and digest, but unlike us, they do have not much control because it is more or less automatic or reflexive, triggered by nerves that detect the necessity.
They do have some ability to ‘save’ poop if they have a reason for it, such as defecating over predators or if they are potty-trained by humans while being a pet bird.
Not all birds pee and poop and the same time, ostriches for instance, first urinate and then defecate.
4 – Do birds fart?
Farting is only possible if you have the stomach bacteria that builds gas in your stomach.
Birds don’t have this bacteria, therefore, they are incapable of farting. Their stomachs process food fast, it doesn’t sit there fermenting like what happens to us mammals.
5 – How often do birds poop?
Going to the washroom can be a very, very frequent activity if you’re a bird. In fact, you may have to go approximately 40 times a day!
It all depends on the bird size. The smaller the bird, the more poops will come!
- Small Birds (Canaries, sparrows): 15 minutes
- Medium Birds (lorikeets, cockatoos, pigeons): 30 minutes
- Large Birds: (chickens, macaws, cranes): 60 minutes
6- Do birds poop while they sleep?
They might be sleeping, but their guts are still working! Even though they poop fewer times, birds still poop at night time while they are sleeping.
7 – Do birds poop while flying?
Yes! Birds can poop everywhere and at any time. They have mostly no control over it (why would they, anyway?), so as soon as their digestive system is ready, they go.
It’s said that birds also poop while taking off in a flight to ‘lighten’ themselves from the weight.
8 – Where do birds like to poop?
Birds will poop wherever they like to perch or near large bodies of water. They might poop in the water because it means they’re not leaving a trace behind for predators.
They might ‘reserve’ poop to target predators too.
9 – Do birds poop in unison?
If a flock of birds is taking off at the same time because they there startled, there is a chance they might all ‘poop in unison’. Talk about team unity!
User Ron Shipe on Quora, tells a story that while he was on a date with a girl, he decided to yell and clap his hands under a tree with a flock of birds. As you can imagine, the birds got scared and the date didn’t end as he planned.
10 – Why is bird poop good luck?
There is a Russian old-wives tale that says that being pooped on by birds it’s actually good luck.
The reasoning behind this relies on the fact that being pooped on is a rare event. Another justification for that comes from the symbolism associated with birds. In many cultures, birds are believed to be messengers of supernatural things, which means they could be bringing good news soon. See, maybe it’s not so bad that you got pooped on!
11 – Is bird poop bad for my car?
Yes! Remove it as soon as you can! It contains a very acidic nature (reaches pH levels of anywhere around 3 to 4.5 that make it quite acidic) that can corrode your car’s paintwork.
12 – Is bird poop toxic to humans?
Bird droppings can carry over 60 types of diseases and are frequently associated with over 50 kinds of ectoparasites. Most people won’t get sick, but vulnerable people with already weakened immunity can get very ill.
What happens if I touch bird poop?
You will probably be okay, just make sure to wash it off really well. The likelihood that you encountered bird poop containing a dangerous zoonotic germ is really very small, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
What diseases can humans get from bird poop?
Depending on the circumstance, you can get diseases from bird poop, but as mentioned above, they are rare. Most related bird poop diseases are caused when in contact with a large number of dry bird droppings from infected birds or contaminated soil.
Bird poop can be toxic to humans and cause the following diseases:
- Psittacosis
- Histoplasmosis
- Bird flu
- Candidiasis
- Cryptococcosis
- St. Louis Encephalitis
- Salmonella
- E.coli infection
- Campylobacter
- Bird fancier’s lung
- Ringworms
How to prevent diseases from bird poop?
- Make sure your air circulating system is not being contamined by airbone spores from bird poop.
- Always clean your hands after handling your bird feeder/bird bath.
- Cook well poultry meat and eggs.
- Wash well fruits, vegetables.
- Desinfect cutting boards where raw poultry was cut.
- Don’t swim in a pool that has bird droppings.
- Also avoid ‘kissing’ your bird.
13 – Does bird poop smell?
Bird poop usually doesn’t smell that bad. The bigger the bird, the more chances it smelling bad.
The reason why bird poop doesn’t smell so bad is that food tends to pass quickly through their digestive system, not having the chance to ferment. No fermentation means ‘mild’ smelling poops.
14 – How do you clean up bird poop?
If it’s outside and the poop is ‘recent’, a simple water hose can do the job. If it’s dry on the concrete, put baking soda on the stained area and it will absorb as much material as possible in about 15 to 20 minutes. Vinegar can also help (mix it with water).
If there are large amounts of droppings, soaking them and then shoveling is a better alternative than sweeping or using a high-power hose. That is the best choice because dry poop can spread airborne spores and we might breathe them in. All materials should be placed in multi-ply plastic bags and within secure containers until disposed of properly.
Wear gloves and a mask if possible when directly handling bird poop.
How to get bird poop stain off clothes
Some of the things you can try to use to remove the stains from your clothes include a dull knife, credit card, or spoon to remove the ‘bulk’. You can also just bring the clothing to a large sink or washer, washing it with cold water. You can also use an oxygen-based bleach or a heavy-duty laundry detergent.
Steps to removing bird poop from clothes
- Allow the poop to dry first
Trying to get rid of bird poop from your clothes when they are still wet will only lead to a bigger mess.
2. Pluck and scrape
After the poop has completely dried off, pry the biggest pieces of the fabric using a napkin or paper towel. You can also use the edge of a credit card to scrape the spot until the rest of the solid waste has flaked off.
3. Finish off by wiping the area
Once you have removed all the remaining solid waste, there will be instances when you will notice a light-colored spot on the area where the bird feces fell. It is the remnants of the poop’s dried urates. To get rid of this spot from the garment, use a damp cloth to wipe and dab the area for several minutes. A microfiber cloth can work like magic for this particular purpose because it won’t leave behind any lint on the spot that you are trying to clean.
How do you get bird poop out of hair?
First, soak your hair in warm water to loosen up those bird poop clumps. After you’ve softened up the clumps start by shampooing your hair and make sure to build up a good lather.
Best cleaners for bird poop
- Water + Baking Soda
- Common dishwasher detergent soap
- White Vinegar + Water
- WD-40
- Poop-Off Bird Off Remover
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Ammonia
Will WD-40 clean bird poop?
Simply spray some drops of WD-40 onto the stained area and let it stay for some time. If you are using this on a car, it may not take more than a minute. Rinse or remove it using a soft clean cloth.
Using WD-40 on concrete may take a few minutes to completely remove stains from the surface.
15 – How to deal with birds poop?
If you are considering having a pet bird, you might wonder how you’re going to deal with bird poop.
The answer is…you don’t! Just be ready to have a wipe box whenever your bird is out and lots and lots of newspaper to cover all the areas where your bird perch.
The good news is that birds poop is really easy to remove and most parrots (cockatiels, lovebirds, larger birds) have some sort of instinctive desire not to poop on their favorite human perch.
There are some people that manage to potty-train their birds, but it doesn’t seem to work with every bird. It might be easier to potty-train your bird if it is already used to the point-and-target method.
One tip to potty-train a bird is to ‘guess’ when the birds going to poop (most of the time right after waking up or right after eating). Then take the bird to the right spot every time you think he’s likely to go, wait until he does his stuff and then praise him profusely.
16 – Do birds poop in their nest?
Mama and Papa bird rarely poop on their nests, but their babies will. Most of the time, their parents will clean the poop off the nest.
The mother bird takes the time to pick up the fecal sac and dispose of it because the goal is to have it far away from the nest to avoid attracting predators.
17 – Does bird poop kill plants?
Bird poop is only bad for plants when they are fragile and have young tissues. The poop might burn them. This damage is due to the droppings’ high mineral concentration. However, it is a rather minor effect in general.
Mature plant parts and leaves are often not harmed in any way, in fact, bird poop is usually beneficial for plants. It contains several minerals, including magnesium, potassium, calcium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The exact amount of these minerals will vary depending on the specific bird species and its diet.
18 – Does bird poop really make your skin glow?
In feudal Japan, some women resorted to a curious gross skin treatment to get their skin glowing. The Bird poop facial Uguisu Poo Uguisu is a skin treatment that involves smearing nightingale droppings, typically combined with rice bran on their faces. The mixture allegedly contains exfoliating enzymes that supposedly refine skin texture.
The product seems to be effective and it has a five-star rating on Amazon (we have no association with this product!). According to the company that produces the bird poop facial:
For over 400 years in Japan, Uguisu No Fun is known to be an effective and proven treatment for skin dullness, discoloration, aging, sun damage, fine lines, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. Uguisu No Fun is originally used only by Japanese women of higher birth status.
This may sound exciting, but please do not try this facial on your own by taking regular bird poop in your face. The bird poop that has been used for facial has been sanitized under ultraviolet light and then mixed with rice bran.
19 – Bird poop can replace coal
Israeli scientists are planning to kill two birds with the same stone (pardon the pun!).
They are planning to burn bird poop to generate energy. They discovered that by using a process called ‘hydrocharring’, which has a similar combustion process as burning coal, it’s possible to generate heat.
20 – People were obsessed with bird poop in the past
According to Mental Floss, in the mid-19th century, people had a curious type of commodity in Peru. Peruvian bird poop was big business.
The reason was that people were using poop to make fertilizer and gunpowder. In ancient times, people were using it even to mummify people!
Funny poop stories
We collected some funny bird poop stories from Reddit:
Pramit Lahiri – I must say that the crows have an immense skill of angular shitting because it once happened that when our car was speeding about 70km/hr, a piece of shit just floated across, and with the help of gravitational force it fell on my uncle’s hand which was outside the window.
In another incident, while at the zoo, when I was about to enjoy some overpriced pizza, I got an extra, unrequested topping.
Andy McDonald – I treated myself to a nice new bike jacket in the early ’80s. First time I wore it (apart from trying it on in the shop) I got shat on by a seagull on the way to work.
Funny poop memes
Conclusion
A flick of luck? A curse from the sky? Bird poop is the reason for a lot of funny comments and an object of curiosity by many people.
