Observing a striking color change in bird droppings, such as a deep purple or vibrant violet hue, often prompts questions about a bird’s health. This unusual coloration is not typically a sign of distress but rather a direct reflection of recent dietary choices. Bird waste is composed of three distinct parts—solid feces, chalky urates, and clear liquid urine—all combined into a single dropping. The purple color is almost always a temporary, benign result of consuming foods rich in certain natural pigments.
The Components of Typical Bird Droppings
Bird excretion is unique because the digestive and urinary waste products are expelled simultaneously through a single opening called the cloaca. A healthy dropping is a composite of three components, each originating from a different system. The dark or brownish-green, solid, coiled portion is the feces, which is undigested food waste from the intestinal tract. The color of this fecal component is the part most easily influenced by diet.
The second component is the urates, which appear as a white or off-white, chalky paste alongside the feces. Urates consist of uric acid crystals, allowing birds to excrete nitrogenous waste without using much water. The third component is the clear liquid urine, which is often minimal and typically forms a thin, watery ring around the other two parts. The purple color is specifically confined to the solid fecal matter, indicating an undigested pigment is the source.
Dietary Reasons for Purple Coloration
The appearance of purple in droppings is a direct consequence of consuming high amounts of deeply colored fruits and berries. This coloration is caused by a class of plant pigments known as anthocyanins, which are responsible for the red, blue, and purple shades in nature. When a bird feasts on these pigmented foods, the anthocyanins are not fully broken down or absorbed during the rapid digestive process. Instead, they pass through the intestinal tract largely intact.
Common wild foods that cause this temporary purple staining include mulberries, elderberries, dark cherries, and blackberries. Grapes and blueberries are particularly potent sources of these pigments and are frequently the culprits when purple droppings are noticed. The bird’s body uses the pigments as a non-toxic dye, staining the solid fecal waste before elimination. This is a normal physiological process, and the color should revert to the bird’s typical shade within 24 hours as the pigmented food clears the system.
Identifying Abnormal Waste Colors
While diet-induced purple droppings are normal and temporary, other color or consistency changes can signal a health issue that requires attention. A change in the urate component from its usual white or cream color is often a cause for concern. If the urates appear bright yellow or neon green, it may indicate underlying liver disease or anorexia, as bile pigments are not being processed correctly.
Any sign of red or black in the droppings, not attributable to diet, suggests the presence of blood. Bright red indicates fresh blood, potentially from the lower digestive tract or cloaca. A tarry black color often points to digested blood from higher up in the system, possibly due to internal bleeding or heavy metal poisoning. Changes in texture, such as excessive clear liquid (polyuria) or a consistently watery fecal portion, also warrant careful observation. Abnormal colors from illness tend to persist regardless of diet, while a dietary purple hue will disappear quickly.