Birds brighten our lives with their song, ability to fly and bright beauty. And birds are our connection to nature.
But there are times when we connect just a little too much with our fine feathered friends.
That connection often results in a big white smudge left on our car if we park under the wrong tree.
Or even worse, on us if we’re in their direct line of fire.
I’m talking about the dreaded white smudge: bird poop.
Bird Poop as a Good Luck Charm
There are some that believe bird poop brings good luck.
So if our avian friends poop on you, your car or your property, you may receive good luck and riches. And the more birds involved, the more prosperous you’ll be.
If you embrace bird poop in that way, congratulations, we’ve just reaffirmed your thinking and your reading is done.
If not you’re not the superstitious type and don’t feel lucky when a bird leaves a big smudge of bird droppings on your car, then read on.
A new podcast by Birdnote, a partner of the National Audubon Society, with episodes airing daily on NPR radio stations nationwide answers the question: why is most of the bird poop we see white?
According to Birdnote, birds, unlike mammals, don’t produce urine. Instead, they excrete nitrogenous wastes in the form of uric acid, which emerges as a white paste.
And uric acid doesn’t dissolve in water easily, so it sticks to your car or its windshield like blobs of white plaster.
Car Colors Most Pooped on by Birds
If you’re looking to buy a new car, then buyer beware.
Birds do have a color preference when it comes to targeting their droppings.
A study in England found that red cars are the most likely target of bird poop, followed by blue and black.
Green cars were the least likely targeted by birds.
So be careful where you park. And if all else fails, consider buying a white car.
I have a white car. Went out to my car this morning and had 7 different spots of bird poop on my windshield and hood. No trees over head and multi cars parked around me all of which where not white. But red and black and silver. Only my car got hit. Explain this..
I as well have a white truck.and deal with this on the daily.and it’s never just one spot! It’s always like 5 or more,and this aggravates the crap out of me! Because I never see any other color car getting crapped on.
I also have a white car, and whenever I park in a parking garage at work, to protect it from the summer Florida elements, I often find it covered with bird poop, more than neighboring cars. White cars are NOT a safe bet!
I doubt that birds “control” their release based on the color of a car below.
In my experience, what is a significant factor: whether the car is parked under a tree, a utility wire, or any other “perch”.
Hi Joseph. When you watch birds they are constantly relieving themselves with no regard to what’s below. The only thing that might thwart them is if you have a bird of prey painted on your car and they see it and fly off out of fear. Might be a fun experiment to try with a vinyl graphic.
Brand new white car, first time ever owning a white car, first car that gets 3 or 4 splotches on it Every. Single. Morning.
Birds love crapping on white cars, no matter what this “study” says.
We have a silver truck, bought an Owl to prevent birds from pooping on truck. Actually got worse. Now what?
Kings Cross area Sydney, usually parking spaces under trees.I know Why now.I parked my white vehicle under a tree.In the morning it was covered in bird poop from those of ibis birds.Had to take car to carwash.Also some trees from a sort of sticky flower pollen
I know for a fact that birds intentionally poop on people. There was this one time I was eating some fries at a picnic table, when I was harassed by some aggressive seagulls that wanted some food. After I shoo-ed them away, they flew around in a circle and pooped right on the picnic table.
Hi Travis. Yes, bird do intentionally poop on people. Crows and gulls are very good at hitting people from afar. On the bright side, if you can wash the poop off, it’s supposed to bring you good luck.
I think because i surely don’t know, that red blue and black cars attract the most crap due to the fact that they have the most contrast from the sky during the day. I can’t really explain the green other than its forest colors? Idk Im reaching. But, a Dull colored car during the day against dull colored concrete blends in the most with the ground. You’re Reds Blacks and Blues stand out and pop off as targets. At night your whites may be more at risk due to certain lighting. Again I surely don’t know, Just a theory.
My theory is that during the day when they are awake they advertise their presence by making their droppings stand out on a car or other object that contrasts with their excreted white pasty uric acid. and They do this to either warn others that this is a ‘private party’ or a ‘restricted area’ and to stay back or risk being attacked.
They may also do this as a diversion as to divert others such as predators from going to certain areas- like where their babies are nesting. In this sense their droppings are used as red herrings.
At night however, they are sleeping and need to keep cover from predators. This would explain why they poop on white cars throughout the night since their matching color guano on the car would most likely be undetectable at night.
I do not know whether the birds before tucking in for the night first find a white car and then a nearby tree in which they can crash or if they sleep in the same tree every night and leave their sleep quarters in search of a white car upon which to do their duty.
Hi Cathy. Then birds love to advertise at great frequency! 🙂
Okay, I have a light blue car, and not only does it get pooped on more than my Wife’s white car, but it is ALWAYS the rear view mirrors & front doors on both sides of the car. It is utterly disgusting.
Hi Jim. It sounds like you have male bluebirds near your house. We have the same problem. Try closing your mirrors or putting a paper bag over them when parking your car for long periods. The bird lands on your car and thinks it’s seeing an intruder in its reflection and poops on them. It should help lessen the bird poop on your mirrors and doors.
Please help I have a black car, first mistake lol I keep moving my car where I live but everyday I come out and there is 4 lines going down the drivers side and on my mirrors by I know they say it’s good luck but come on. That really doesn’t work for me. What can I do to stop this it’s disgusting. HELP!!!!!!
My car is white and full this am. I’ll go with the good fortune
Hi Marguerite. We can all use some good fortune. 🙂
My car is silver with sunroof and birds poop on it everywhere. It is parked under fruitless mulberry trees. When my friends and family park under the trees in my driveway , their cars don’t get pooped on, is it just because it’s silver? I bought a cover for my car and there’s no longer poop, not 1 drop ?
My White Cultus Sedan gets pooped almost every day but yesterday was different as i was passing through overhead bridge in Karachi when suddenly i got Kites pooped 14times at once like it was raining sound, It scared shit out of me as to what was the myth behind that hillarious incident, Above all commemts make sense that im not the only one targeted but im now becoming superstitious as what has been the cause behind 14 Popps altogether is beyond my imagination
This article is 100% FALSE. I have a WHITE CAR, and I was parked in my apartment complex parking lot alongside a Black, a Red, and a multi colored vehicle. Yet, MY WHITE CAR was the ONLY vehicle that was heavily targeted. There are NO trees in the parking lot NOR a place for the birds to cop a squat. Here’s what’s also fact. I had a bird feeder that I kept full on a daily basis. My neighbor beneath me moved and the new neighbors had an issue with a few of my bird seeds dropping down onto their balcony so I stopped are refilling the feeder. Those tiny little birds became angry, knew that I drove that vehicle because they watch me ESPECIALLY in the morning, and unloaded. I will also say I received numerous warnings to refill. This is a TRUE STORY. Nothing exaggerated.
Man I had to laugh at what everyone was saying about the birds pooping on white cars. I have a red car and it never gets pooped on lol. It just cracked me up when they say that the birds intended to poop on people. I remember when I was little I was pointing at something trying to show my mom something and Bird pooped right on my finger that I was pointing with. Lol. My mom had a fit!
Thank you for sharing useful information. This article helps me a lot. Hope you write more.
A car covered in bird poop isn’t only disgusting and unsightly, but the droppings can also damage paintwork, which is costly to repair. That’s why what color cars do birds poop on the most is one of the important factors to consider when buying a new vehicle, especially if you’re going to park it outside often.
Thank for sharing useful information in your article.
Now that I know why birds poop on my car, the next step to relieve me of my stress is to simply stop these birds.
We all know the frustrations when you just cleaned your car only for it to be pooped on by a bird. It can really get on your nerves, and there’s no doubt about that.
Just a quick comment, in my experience, bird poop is not white. The white part is likely urates a component of urine. My parrots” poop is usually brown, but can turn green at times. It may be different with other species, but I think white is urates.
Mike Florida
Yeah, I totally disagree with this article…I just bought a new white car and I swear, every stinking day I go out to at least one big runny smear of bird poop sometimes two or three (WTH!?). I rarely had this happen with the gray sedan, silver sub compact, and gold suv I previously owned!
Oh and I don’t park under trees and live at the same place. Am I missing something here as I’m beginning to feel like the birds are deliberately targeting me!?
Your Mystery solved headline about birds and the color of cars they choose to poop on caught my attention.because I truly did solve the mystery about 10 years ago by adding up a life time of circumstances that allowed all the pieces to reveal the answer and it’s not one that most people would come up with but it’s one that is fairly easy to prove if one has a basic understanding of genetics and natural selection.im no genius by no means it was just luck that my special set of life experiences allowed all the dots to connect mostly dew to my back ground in animal science and minimal knowledge of genetics and natural selection. With that said I’ve been wanting to share this epiphany with everyone but I was busy launching a product I invented that prevents animals from digging under any fence called dig defence that saves dogs lives and is the best solution for airport fencing. Preventing wild animals from accessing the tarmack.Then the airports where asking how to stop deer from jumping over their 10 ft. fence so I designed a 3 foot fence extender and incorporated 1 ft. Long spikes at the top bent at 45° instead of barb wire because I knew that’s how the other anti bird roosting products for buildings worked based on the fact that birds are uncomfortable perching at a 45° angle. And when I was reserching ways to make my fence topper an anti bird one is when I came across the bird poop and car color data and when I combined it with my life long tid bits of knowledge I learned along the way it simply and seamlessly solved your mystery and by answering your complex problem it has allowed us to figure out what is going on with the birds to the point now after studying this answer and experimenting for the past 10 years I can say the playing field is now at least even with our feathered friends and the best part is it’s a very eco friendly and inexpensive field leveler..if you want to know more or you know someone that is up to and capable of a world wide product launch in multiple venues simultaneously.please share this with them.im too old and to wise to go this one alone..lol thanks for you time
Sincerely
Todd Richmond
todd.richmond69@gmail.
com
479 276 7037
For the last eight years we’ve had two different cars for six years we had a red Chevy and then the last two years we’ve had a blue Nissan I guess we’re just luckier now than when we had the red car the blue car is covered daily with droppings…. So it seems like we’re supposed to have good fortune. It’s a new theory I could start believing in some say that I am pretty lucky so maybe that’s my reason lol.
Hi Mark. Since we love birds, we view the dropping as their way of communicating that brings us good luck.
Now if they can only poop the winning Powerball numbers!
This article isn’t saying birds AVOID pooping on white cars
It’s saying if all else fails get a white car because bird poo is white so it won’t stand out as much as on a red car!
My brand-new White Nissan pathfinder was targeted yesterday (drivers’ side & roof, from my windshield all the way to the back windshield) with over 2 dozen blobs of large bird droppings.
I was telling people a hit was put out on me!! (I saw a black crow or raven shortly after.)
It showed up drastically across the black windows, black tires…my wheels, and the pavement near the back drivers side, etc.
I was not under a tree, or anything above. I was about 20 feet away from the front of a building.
The bright red Jeep beside me, and the white car beside me were spared
…along with the convertible that had its roof down parked on the other side of the Jeep.
I feel like “they” were really the one with the best luck!!!