Cities are filled with birds especially pigeons. These animals have adjusted to living in urban environments with humans but in the end, they are still wild animals with wild animal behaviours. In the wild, birds poop everywhere, this is helpful for seed dispersal and to fertilize vegetation but the poop usually lands on cars in urban areas, and it may seem like they prefer to poop on black cars, so why is this? Why do pigeons poop on black cars?

In reality, birds do not only poop on black cars, and they don’t particularly target black cars either. Birds will actually poop where it’s convenient to them to and if your car is close to where birds roost then there is a higher chance that your car will get pooped on.

Why do birds poop on black cars?

There are some ideas floating around about what colour cars birds prefer to poop on. Some of these ideas are that polished cars get more poop because birds see their reflections in them. Another idea is that because your dark blue, green or black car is generally more reflective a bird will poop on it.

Or even that because blue cars reminded birds of water these cars suffer the most. With all these ideas going around you would be forgiven for thinking that birds only poop on black cars. But all of this is based on suspicion and none are true.

That being said, the reason bird poop is so noticeable on black cars is because of the contrast of the milky white fluid (that birds produce instead of urine and that birds excrete with their poop) against the background of a dark-coloured car. Even if the poop is not milky white, it is still more noticeable on a black or dark-coloured car.

Despite the widely held belief, there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that birds mostly poop on black cars. 

Can bird poop ruin your car paint?

Bird poop cannot ruin your car if cleaned within the day that it lands on your car. That being said, prolonged exposure of the car’s paint to the acid in a bird’s poop may cause a stain, fading, and rusting to the metal. 

How long can you leave bird poop on your car?

Do not leave bird poop on your car for more than two days if you do not want the paint to be damaged. Exposing the metal to rusting by other elements can lead to damage. 

How do you keep birds from pooping on your car?

Keep an eye on where birds are most likely to perch and avoid parking the car there to keep them from pooping on it. If bird poop lands on your car, you can wipe it off with a wet cloth before it dries.

Use a full-body car cover on the car. It is much easier to clean a car cover than to repair damage caused by bird poop. If you wait until the end of the day, wash off the bird poop with a pressure washer. Follow that up with a soap wash to avoid stains. 

When bird poop lands on the windshield, do not be tempted to hit the wiper switch. Bird poop contains small pieces of stone that the bird eats to help with digestion and this could leave a scratch mark on your windshield. Drive the car to the nearest gas station and use water to remove the solid poop and then follow up with a wiper wash. 

Do birds poop on you on purpose?

Belivers of the idea that bird poop is good luck think that a bird poops on you on purpose to give you good luck. However, there is no scientific evidence to support that.

You are more likely to be pooped on by birds because of external reasons like when you attract them with the food you carry and they try to get it. You may also live in an area where birds have their nesting or feeding grounds, the natural process just takes over and the bird poops on you. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the reason a bird will poop on your car, regardless of what colour your car is, depends on how close your car is to where birds nest and feed. If your car just happens to be in a place close to where birds are then there is a higher chance that a bird will poop on your car.

If you leave the poop on your car for a long time then it can damage your car. If you want to avoid this all together avoid parking your car close to where birds are. Some may think a bird pooping on you is good luck but there is no evidence that suggests this.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What do birds smell like?, Can a bird’s broken leg heal on its own?, Hydrogen peroxide in a birdbath, helpful or harmful?, Do birds get constipated?