Why bird nests aren't covered in poop

An ornithologist explains how robin hatchlings and their parents keep their nest clean.

Welcome to our first-ever week of programming for kids!

Earlier this year I noticed a bird nest with a single bright blue egg sitting on my front porch. Over the course of a few days, the single egg turned into four, and in a few more days, they hatched. What I witnessed over the course of watching these birds grow was magical, but it also left me with a lot of questions about what goes on in the beginning of a bird's life.

My biggest question: Where does all the bird poop go?

To answer all of my question about these baby birds, I spoke with professor of biology and lifelong bird lover Michael Murphy about the weird and often gross things birds do to survive.

If you're looking to learn more about birds here are two incredible resources:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology K-12 online learning: https://bit.ly/31NR2wY
National Audubon Society: https://www.audubon.org/birding

We designed these episodes for kids ages 9-13, but we hope all of our audience enjoys them! You can find all of our kids videos here: https://bit.ly/3hLA3Ro

You may notice that comments are disabled on our kids’ videos. This is a default function of YouTube for kids programming.

If you’re a parent, educator, or a kid at heart, please sign up for our newsletter for updates on all of our upcoming kids’ programming at Vox, from podcasts to videos to new shows: http://www.vox.com/kids

Special thanks to Rachel Gianni, a consultant we worked with on this week of programming
https://www.rachelgiannini.com/

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