Bird-Watching and Ornithology

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These Majestic Seabirds Never Stop Pooping (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 7 months ago by silence7@slrpnk.net to c/birding@slrpnk.net

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Streaked shearwaters keep a very regular rhythm throughout their daily foraging flights, shedding about 5 percent of their body mass every hour.

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[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 4 points 7 months ago

Main points:

The researcher was originally just trying to see what birds' takeoff patterns were like while running, but then turned the camera backwards on basically a whim.
They only poop while flying (every 4-10 min), probably because it may be easier for them than while on the water; it lightens their total flight weight, and reduces guano getting stuck to their bodies (which could otherwise make them smelly targets for predators)
Their crap is full of phosphorus and nitrogen and fuels coral and fish population growth quite significantly (seabird regions show a noticeable difference)

Didn't expect to read this today, but here we are.