Pooping Birds!

More than you ever wanted to know!

We’ve all seen bird poop and most of us have, at one time or another, been lucky (??) enough to catch the bird in the act. When I’m taking pictures of birds, I am sometimes so focused on a bird’s head and eyes that it isn’t until I review the pictures that I realize the bird pooped! Kind of brings new meaning to the term “photo bombed!”

Before I present my Poop Gallery, let me tell you a few quick things about bird poop. Thanks to Justbirding.com and TheZoologicalWorld.com for the scoop on poop!

First, birds poop and pee out of the same orifice, the cloaca. This all purpose opening is used for digestive, reproductive and urinary purposes.

Birds have a kidney but not a bladder. They convert nitrogenous waste to uric acid (aka guanine). Doing this helps the bird retain water. Most birds poop and pee at the same time (the ostrich is an exception). The white mess that you see on the ground, your car and sometimes your hair (😩) is made of white-colored uric acid, yellow/green/brown clumps of waste from the bird’s intestines and clear urine from the kidney. Like I said, more than you ever wanted to know!

It may seem like birds are always pooping and that is almost true. The frequency depends on the size of the bird with smaller birds excreting up to fifty times a day while larger birds may let loose only twenty times a day.

I could go on and talk about the health hazards of bird poop (in large quantities), but let’s keep this upbeat. Click on either of the links above if you want to know more about that!

And now, without further ado…The Poop Gallery!

Anna's Hummingbird pooping in the Bottlebrush.

Red-shouldered Hawk pooping from a pooping perch.

Brown Pelican pooping in flight.

White-faced Ibis pooping in place.

Belted Kingfisher, perched on a post, poops.

Red-tailed Hawk poops from its perch.

Pooping in the wind at Año Nuevo.

With a look of concentration, a Northern Harrier poops.

A White-tailed Kite's attempt at sky (or poop!) writing!

Seen from behind, a Peregrine Falcon poops.

Seen from the side, a Peregrine Falcon poops.

Cooper's Hawk's pre-flight poop.