The reason the internet was invented
So the other day I’m gazing out a window at a lovely spring day and witness a bird alighting on a fence in my back yard. Of course moments later the bird flew off to whatever location was next on what I’m sure is a very busy bird agenda. Before parting, it left a little something for me to remember it by. Which got me thinking…
“Why is bird crap white? Are there any other animals that have white poo?”. I went over the mental list of all the various sorts of animal droppings that I’d seen in my life, not that I make a habit of cataloging these things, and it seemed to me that poo is typically a darker shade. This occupied my thoughts for a minute or two and was eventually pushed out by something that I’m sure was equally as exciting. Possibly enumerating the various genus and phylum of weeds growing in my back yard. But later that evening the subjects of birds came up while out with friends which made me wonder aloud if anyone knew why bird crap was white (and now you see why I have so few friends). No conclusion was reached, but we did decide that if ever a person took a dump and it was white, they would be well advised to seek out a physician immediately.
So today I finally remembered that I must know the answer to this question and was also sitting in front of a computer. It is just this sort of “mystery of the universe” type of question that makes the internet so valuable. Google was easily up to the challenge:
The Scoop on Poop says:
Why is bird poop white?
Unlike mammals, birds don’t urinate. Their kidneys extract nitrogenous wastes from the bloodstream, but instead of excreting it as urea dissolved in urine as we do, they excrete it in the form of uric acid. Uric acid has a very low solubility in water, so it emerges as a white paste. This material, as well as the output of the intestines, emerges from the bird’s cloaca. The cloaca is a multi-purpose hole for birds: their wastes come out of it, they have sex by putting their cloacas together, and females lay eggs out of it.
So, there you have it, one less mystery in the world. And for all your poo related questions, head on over to The Scoop on Poop where they seem to have covered all the bases including The Poop Thesaurus. Good night, and God bless the internet.