Q Is it true that birds can't fart?

摘要

It's not that they can't. They just don't need to, says Mike Murray, a veterinarian at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. Birds have the anatomical and physical ability to pass gas, he explains, "but if I saw gas in a bird's gastrointestinal tract on an x-ray, I'd suspect that something abnormal was going on in there." Birds don't typically carry the same kinds of gas-forming bacteria in their gut as humans and other mammals to help digest food, so there's nothing to let loose. Parrots sometimes emit fart-like sounds, but it's not what you might think. "They like to make playful sounds like they're giving you a raspberry, but it's coming from the north end, not the south," Murray says. Scientists are a little less certain about whether birds can release gassy buildup from the mouth, though.