Birds poop on people. It happens.
Sometimes it’s a matter of chance. Sometimes it’s an act of aggression.
If you find yourself victimized by this comical form of aerial assault, whoever you’re with will probably enjoy a good chuckle at your expense. Paradoxically, they’re also likely to say:
“Hey, it’s good luck.”
Good luck? Slimy excrement on your head and shoulders? Superstition is a funny thing. So is bird poop.
Is the chance at some good luck worth a disgusting mess in your hair? That probably depends on your worldview. Here at Happy Birding, all we can do is review the facts. Let’s begin.
How and When Do Birds Poop?
Birds discharge all of their bodily waste through one orifice, an opening called the cloaca. They don’t separately urinate and defecate. It’s all combined in one product, which is why bird poop is more liquidy than mammal poop.
To manage the incredible physical feat of flight, birds can’t carry excess weight. To keep undigested food from weighing them down, birds have fast metabolisms that allow them to quickly digest and dispose of their meals.
In other words, birds poop frequently.
The smaller the bird, the more often it relieves itself. Petite species like finches and sparrows go up to every 15 minutes or around 50 times per day. Larger birds, like crows, usually poop around once per hour.
Do Birds Intentionally Poop on People?
If a person is hit with bird poop, one of these two conditions apply:
- Wrong place, wrong time
- An intentional attack by the bird
In the case of an unintentional hit, it’s just a matter of chance. This is most likely to happen if you find yourself in the vicinity of lots of flying or perched birds.
A day at the beach around seagulls, a walk through a city plaza full of pigeons, or lounging under a tree full of perched songbirds could all lead to an incidental strike.
Purposeful bird poop attacks are different. And yes, they really do happen.
First of all, to intentionally poop in a certain direction at a certain time, a bird needs to have some control over its bowel movements.
Many pet bird owners notice that their birds avoid pooping on their hands or clothes. Pet birds are often able to spend lots of time outside of their cages, yet never poop outside of the cage.
It’s clear that birds have some cognitive link to the act of relieving themselves.
Wild birds often poop right as they take flight. However, to some extent, they seem able to strategically hold it in or to make themselves go on command. How do we know this? Because there are clear examples of birds intentionally using their waste as a territorial attack.
Defecation as an Act of Territorial Aggression
Poop attacks may be used as a mobbing technique. Mobbing is the name for a group of smaller animals teaming up to drive away larger or predatory animals.
All types of birds get aggressive when a threatening creature (like a human) gets too close to their nest or their young. Mobbing is particularly common among certain species, like gulls, terns, and jays. Crows are known for boldly mobbing hawks and other birds of prey.
Mobbing birds do whatever they can to scare off their foes—dive bombing, squawking, and yes—defecating.
If you take the wrong step into a territorial bird’s turf, you might get mobbed. And if you get mobbed, you might get pooped on.
Why Would Anyone Want to be Pooped on by a Bird?
If a bird poops on you, you either ticked off a wild animal, which is never good, or you just so happened to be standing in the exact line of fire of a tiny blob of disgusting flying excrement.
Neither scenario seems particularly lucky.
Why would such an unfortunate event be associated with good luck?
Well, people simply seem to like assigning superstitions to matters of chance. Telling someone that good luck is on the way is also a nice way to cheer them up while their hair is full of bird poo.
Let’s take a closer look to see if there are any deeper meanings behind bird poop superstitions.
Bird Droppings and Superstition, Religion, and Folklore
Throughout human history, birds have provided a link to the natural world. Thanks to their unique flight abilities, people around the world have more up-close encounters with birds than with other types of animals.
Birds are prominent in spiritual imagery and cultural storytelling. Examples include viewing a crow as an omen bringer, a dove as a symbol of purity, and an eagle as a symbol of strength.
And then there’s bird poop.
Linking being pooped on by a bird to good luck seems to be a widespread superstition across many cultures. However, the belief seems to have the strongest historical basis in these two countries:
- Russia
- Turkey
People in those nations, among others, expect good fortune to come their way soon after getting pooped on. In Turkey, bird poop victims are advised to immediately purchase a lottery ticket.
It’s tough to find primary sources that shed any light on the origin of these beliefs. While major religious texts like the Bible and the Koran have plenty of references to birds, bird poop isn’t specifically mentioned.
Bird poop bringing good luck just seems to be one of those things that people have been saying for countless generations.
If you’re seeking spiritual meaning, go ahead and view bird poop missiles as “gifts from the heavens.” There are a limited amount of objects that can fall from the sky and strike us without inflicting major harm. You might as well feel gratitude, right?
There’s also the butterfly effect philosophy, the idea that little events everywhere are interconnected in grand and meaningful ways.
Getting hit by bird poop is so unlikely that it’s easy to imagine the event as the first domino in an incredible cascade of changes, perhaps even the start of something wonderful.
When Has Bird Poop Delivered Good Fortune?
Do you know a superstitious person who’s been hit with bird waste? They probably credited the event as the cause of whatever good things came their way in the days to come.
According to NBA star Dwayne Wade, bird poop incidents were always a sign of success around the corner. Wade tells this story:
“Not a lot of things were going well for me… I got (pooped) on right on top of my head. I had a bald head at the time, that (stuff) was disgusting, had to keep walking to practice, my teammates was laughing at me. Long story short, I had a very good year… things started to turn around for me. (Poop) on my head don’t sound too bad… So this is my second year playing now, walking to class one day, (a bird pooped) right on top of my head. I had a hat on that time… I ended up being All-American that year… (Poop) on me, please.”
Sometimes, bird poop really is directly connected to sizeable fortunes—on the scale of national economies.
In Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, guano (seabird excrement) has been a major export for hundreds of years, thanks to its use as a fertilizer. In Peru, the period between 1845-66 is known as the Guano Era due to the economic importance of guano exports during that time.
Lucky Bird Poop? No Thanks
If you recently served as a bird poop landing pad, go ahead and hope for some good luck.
On the other hand, if you’re a birder and you haven’t been getting hit by bird poop—well, that seems pretty lucky, too.
Kelly is an environmental science writer, naturalist, and birdwatcher. Kelly holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and has worked as an environmental analyst, urban planner, and professor of environmental planning.