[Mnbird] Fecal Sacs

[Jerold Balls]

One of our questions about RHWO's, are there fecal-sacs?  We have never observed one being removed from a nest.  Their nests after fledgling don't appear to be particularly messy.
Jerry Bahls 
Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 1, 2016, at 09:37, gperrizo--- via Mnbird <mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote:
> 
> I didn't know about the swallowing part. I remember once, years ago, a neighbor complaining about the grackles and wondered why they pooped so much on his driveway. It was explained to him that when the grackles carry out the poop sacs from the nest, they drop it into a river so as not to be found by predators. Modern day grackles have all kinds of long, narrow strips of black asphalt below them that they think are rivers, hence the concentration of bird poop on one's driveway. I have no idea if this is true... Another thing we can easily look up in this cyber age in which we live.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Stephen Hedman via Mnbird <mnbird at lists.mnbird.net>
> To: mnbird at lists.mnbird.net
> Cc: Stephen Hedman <shedman at d.umn.edu>
> Sent: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:09:19 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: [Mnbird] Fecal Sacs
> 
> This is a rather gross subject to intrude upon such a beautiful June (last)
> morning. Skip it if you have a sensitive demeanor.
> 
> I have a robin nesting under the eve on my front porch. The four eggs
> hatched about ten days ago. There are now four gaping beaks for the two
> parents to contend with. I noticed that after mama/papa bring something
> for the young to eat, they pick up a white substance that they (parents)
> subsequently swallow. This was very curious to me so did a bit of
> research. It really is a practical matter. If you feed young birds, they
> defecate. If such remains in the nest, subsequent bacterial action could
> be unhealthy for the young birds. It turns out, at least as far as I have
> been able to determine, that young birds in the nest (for certain species)
> deposit their feces in a small sac. Hence the name of "fecal sacs". The
> parents remove these sacs and indeed swallow them.
> 
> The wonders of nature never cease to amaze me. It strikes me that the
> environmental impact of eating fecal sacs is far preferable to using
> disposable diapers.
> 
> Best,
> Steve Hedman
> St. Louis County
> 
> 
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