Splat! It was a fly-by pooing!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Researchers believe that seabird waste could play a key role in marine ecosystems. But how do we even study their splatter patterns at sea?
Leo Uesaka and Katsufumi Sato from the University of Tokyo got down and dirty. They strapped tiny cameras to the bellies of Streaked Shearwaters, facing their “business ends.”
And? They found that the birds pooped almost exclusively in flight! They drop one every few minutes, losing up to five percent of their body mass per hour.
Scientists think the frequent number twos might help them fly easier! Going over the sea may reduce disease spread and contribute to sea nutrients.
Or a bad hair day for fishermen.
Reference: Leo Uesaka, Katsufumi Sato, Periodic excretion patterns of seabirds in flight,
Current Biology, Volume 35, Issue 16, 2025, Pages R795-R796, ISSN 0960-9822, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.06.058.