WEBVTT - Why is Bird Poop White?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Seger. Today's question is pretty gross. Okay, let's

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<v Speaker 1>give it a go. Have you ever washed a car

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<v Speaker 1>just to have a bird poop on it a few

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<v Speaker 1>minutes later? It's sad when you think about it. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>the wealth of technological and social innovations across the span

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<v Speaker 1>of human history, we still can't stop birds from flying

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<v Speaker 1>around crapping on whatever they want anytime anywhere. A bird

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<v Speaker 1>actually pooped on my dog's head the other day. And look,

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<v Speaker 1>this is not normal poop. It's white, sometimes with a

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<v Speaker 1>dark spot in it. But why why is bird poop white? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>the answer here is it isn't. At least, bird poop

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<v Speaker 1>isn't all white. It's a mix of colors, and it

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<v Speaker 1>can vary with the species of the bird or its diet,

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<v Speaker 1>but there's definitely white stuff in there. Right. Well, it

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<v Speaker 1>all comes down to streamlining. Birds are like any other animal.

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<v Speaker 1>They take in food, process it for energy, and excrete waste. However,

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<v Speaker 1>where mammals like deer elephants or bill murray have two

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<v Speaker 1>different excretion systems like urine and feces, bird biology ain't

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<v Speaker 1>got time for that birds don't even have separate exits

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<v Speaker 1>for their waste and reproductive systems. Instead of the genitalia

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<v Speaker 1>anous combo so popular in the mammalion world, birds have

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<v Speaker 1>a one stop shop called the cloaca. It's the entrance

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<v Speaker 1>exit point for the intestines, urinary tract, and reproductive system. Yep,

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<v Speaker 1>think about that for a second. Birds also process the

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<v Speaker 1>food they eat in a different way. We mammals break

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<v Speaker 1>down protein and produce nitrogenous waste, but we make it

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<v Speaker 1>into urea, which we dissolve into water and excrete as urine.

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<v Speaker 1>This takes a lot of water, which means we have

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<v Speaker 1>to drink lots of it and also means we don't

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<v Speaker 1>do well in places without much water. Birds take a

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<v Speaker 1>different approach, and one that conserves water. Instead of dissolving

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<v Speaker 1>that waste into urine, they primarily excrete something called uric acid.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a solid, pasty junk that's the white stuff. In

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<v Speaker 1>a way, birds aren't just pooping on our cars, statues, buildings,

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<v Speaker 1>and occasionally very unlucky people looking up with their mouths open.

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<v Speaker 1>They're also peeing. And here's why. Remember how earlier I

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned this was all about streamlining. Birds aren't trying to

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<v Speaker 1>conserve water out of some strange sense of environmental responsibility.

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<v Speaker 1>They've evolved to reduce their weight and carrying all that

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<v Speaker 1>extra water around to produce urine. It just doesn't make sense.

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<v Speaker 1>There are also, and I can't believe I'm saying this

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<v Speaker 1>pros and cons to bird poop. Pro it's a great fertilizer.

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<v Speaker 1>Con it can carry a wealth of diseases. Also, it's

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<v Speaker 1>been used as a cosmetic of facial cleanser. True story. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>if it's a pro or con, that's up to you.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com.