Discussion
Do birds have any preference over where they crap or is it as random as I always thought it was?
The reason I ask this admittedly odd question is this. Since changing my car a month or so ago I have never been plagued by so many of the white splats.
I park it in exactly the same spot as the old one, both at home and at work - No trees or other potential perches over it.
The only thing I can think of (unlikely I admit) is that its bright red where as the old one was a subdued dark green.
Or is it that our feathered friends think (probably correctly) that's all Vauxhalls are good for?
Wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience on this dull subject?
Believe it or not, and I s
t you not, there was a study done last year into the crapping preferences of birds with respect to which cars they crapped on. Conclusion being, that yes indeedy, they do crap more often on specific colours than others.
Now, you might all be wondering how I know this incredibly interesting piece of information. Well it was unfortunatly covered on a radio show over here, where I was stuck listening to that channel, and so had to endure the details of what made this study so interesting.
Can't for the life of me remember the results.
t you not, there was a study done last year into the crapping preferences of birds with respect to which cars they crapped on. Conclusion being, that yes indeedy, they do crap more often on specific colours than others. Now, you might all be wondering how I know this incredibly interesting piece of information. Well it was unfortunatly covered on a radio show over here, where I was stuck listening to that channel, and so had to endure the details of what made this study so interesting.
Can't for the life of me remember the results.
ZR1cliff said:
That stuff stains real bad if its left on for a time.
Yeah I know, a few years ago a couple I know bought a brand new BMW (51 plate I think?). Anyway they never got round to cleaning off an offending splatter on the roof. When they finally did (a couple of months later, far longer than I would've left it) it took the paint with it leaving bare, rusty steel
Apparently its due to the water-based paints used nowadays on modern cars to please lentillist's and fluffy bunnies. But it still makes me wonder what birds are actually eating to produce these acidic dumps?
up-the-dubs said:
Believe it or not, and I s
Actually, I believe that study was inconclusive, as no account was taken of the age and/or condition of the cars studied, i.e. the ones that got most "hit points" may well have been rusty old sheds that were rarely or never washed and the low-scorers might have been shiny new P&Js.
Also, there was no kind of control exercised IIRC, so a few cars parked under large trees could skew the results by a large amount.
Basically it was a rubbish experiment and the guy who set it up admitted as much!
ive got a green car and a black car and the green car gets more hits than the black car for some reason.mybrainhurts said:
pigeon is the world authority on bird crap.....
He lives, breathes and eat....errr, no, stoppit.......bird muck.
He'll be along shortly....watch this space
pigeon....you're cleared to land
Where the hell are you.......?
Here
likesbikes said:
Do birds have any preference over where they crap or is it as random as I always thought it was?
The reason I ask this admittedly odd question is this. Since changing my car a month or so ago I have never been plagued by so many of the white splats.
I park it in exactly the same spot as the old one, both at home and at work - No trees or other potential perches over it.
The only thing I can think of (unlikely I admit) is that its bright red where as the old one was a subdued dark green.
Or is it that our feathered friends think (probably correctly) that's all Vauxhalls are good for?
Wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience on this dull subject?
The study referred to may have been flawed, but there is a definite non-random element in at least some avian defecations. My pigeons certainly feel compelled to sign any fresh clean surface ASAP, after which they more or less leave it alone (usually). I can't say whether it's because your new car is red or because it's a Vauxhall. It's probably the colour, but it might be the shape. Either way it seems that the local birds disagree with you about whether or not it looks better with shit on.
likesbikes said:
But it still makes me wonder what birds are actually eating to produce these acidic dumps?
They are eating protein, and metabolising it to a nitrogenous waste product, like you do. But instead of metabolising it to a weak water-soluble alkali (urea), they metabolise it to a weak insoluble acid (uric acid).
Pigeon said:
They are eating protein, and metabolising it to a nitrogenous waste product, like you do. But instead of metabolising it to a weak water-soluble alkali (urea), they metabolise it to a weak insoluble acid (uric acid).
Are you sure its not nuclear waste or something?
Whatever it is they're eating a lot of it, judging by the Belgium-sized shitty splats on my car!
Time for a bird cull I think. (Obviously we'll spare you Pigeon
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