By Stephen Beech

Seabirds only poop while flying , according to new research.

And they do so up to once every four minutes - excreting 5% of their body mass per hour, say scientists.

Researchers uncovered the peculiar bathroom ritual by using backward-facing cameras mounted on streaked shearwaters.

The Japanese team found that the seabirds defecate while flying - not while floating on water - and they do so every four to 10 minutes.

The habit may help the birds stay clean while fertilizing the ocean below, according to findings published in the journal Current Biology.

But the researchers didn’t set out to document the seabirds’ bathroom habits.

Study lead author Dr. Leo Uesaka, from the University of Tokyo, said: “I was studying how seabirds run on sea surface to take off.

“Wh

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