Subject: More Bird Poop (was Re: Bird Poop)
Date: Feb 16 22:16:38 2000
From: Member7179 at aol.com - Member7179 at aol.com


Although this doesn't answer the question, I think it is interesting
information on this
colorful subject:

The ancient Greeks believed that bird poop (avian dejecta) striking
prospective marriage partners simultaneously was most propitious. Indeed,
this sign was seen as doubly significant when the dark solids within the
"splay" fell on the male, and the white watery parts on the female. Remnants
of this belief are, of coarse, echoed today in the form of wedding attire;
the groom is traditionally clad in black, while the bride wears white.
However it was in China, that the relationship between a bird's dietary
intake and the consistency and color of the "splay" was first established.
The price of a caged bird was determined not only by the healthy bloom and
rich coloring of it's feathers, but also by the beauty and tone of it's
droppings. They discovered that feeding robins a diet of agapanthus seeds,
tung oil, and clik beetles, produced splays with a nucleus of an unusually
deep turquoise, and an outer envelope which dried to a vivid blue at the
extremities. The bird buyers were deeply impressed.

-- from the book "What Bird Did That?" by Hansard & Silver
copyright 1991

Just a joke ;-) ;-) ;-)


G Wright
Member7179 at aol.com