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.

[–] degen@midwest.social 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I have to imagine if one ever gets backed up for very long it's like fireworks. But that brings me back to something I've always wondered. Can birds be constipated?

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I would imagine that every organism can get constipated, but they'd probably just die stuffed with poop; human bodies are far more resilient to disease and problems than other animals, generally speaking (as evidenced by our ability to eat onions, garlic, chocolate, avocados, etc. which would normally kill all sorts of other creatures).

[–] degen@midwest.social 2 points 7 months ago

My first thought is if they're constipated there are probably bigger issues like dehydration, but I'm not a bird lawyer. It's just all one hole so my mind ran with it lol

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Majestic!

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

5% every hour!

If you weighed 200 lbs, that would be 10 lbs of shit each hour. That shit must feel amazing!

[–] degen@midwest.social 3 points 7 months ago

I wanted to make a joke about how you would die if you ever stopped pooping, but that sounds like it could actually add up to ~15 minutes between goes