Why Is Bird Poop White? - Encyclopedia Britannica

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security. Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos Why Is Bird Poop White? Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Images Contents Science Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates Birds

Why Is Bird Poop White? For that matter, have you ever seen a bird pee? Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-bird-poop-white Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

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External Websites Ask the Chatbot a Question Written by Pat Bauer Pat Bauer graduated from Ripon College in 1977 with a double major in Spanish and Theatre. She spent most of the next 42 years working as a copy editor and editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She retired... Pat Bauer Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot

Actually, bird poop, per se, is not white. Birds, unlike mammals, do not have separate exits for urine and feces. Both waste products are eliminated simultaneously through the cloaca. While mammals excrete nitrogenous wastes mostly in the form of urea, birds convert it to uric acid or guanine, which reduces water loss in comparison. Uric acid thus forms a white sticky paste. So the white part is actually bird pee; it is the dark center that is the poop.

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Since birds are supposed to have descended from dinosaurs, you may wonder whether dinosaurs peed and pooped the same way. It turns out that not all birds pee and poop simultaneously. Ostriches, for example, though they also expel waste through the cloaca, disgorge liquid urine before defecating. While it is not known for certain how dinosaurs excreted waste, some evidence has been found that suggests the possibility that non-avian dinosaurs also urinated and defecated sequentially.

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