Pelagic Birds Have An Amazing Feature That Allows Them To Safely Drink Seawater Thanks To The Glands Beneath Their Eyes

“I'd like to change my super power, please.”

Ayoub

• Published in Interesting
• December 17, 2022

Pelagic birds don't necessarily need fresh water to hydrate themselves. They drink ocean water and eventually get rid of the excess salt that would only dehydrate them further. 

Seabirds have specialized glands that filter salt ions from their bloodstream located just under the eyes and above the beak. The glands employ a small amount of water to create a highly concentrated saline solution from the salt, which then exits through the bird’s nostrils.

Seabirds will often be seen with fluid dripping down the tip of their beak when spotted on dry land. It's simply the salt exiting their bodies.

If not regularly used, these glands can stop working and atrophy. That's why many wildlife rehabilitation clinics and zoos keep their seabirds in salt water to prevent their glands from dying. 

Once the glands stop pumping, re-exposing the birds to ocean water might cause salt poisoning. A Redditor who goes by the username u/Lilybaum made a post on the r/todayilearned subReddit where they shared a pretty interesting fact about pelagic birds. 

The Reddit community had a lot of interesting reactions to their post. Scroll down to check out the full Reddit post, and scroll a little further to read the comments from the original post. 

Here's the original post by Reddit user u/Lilybaum:

Birds that belong to the Procellariiformes family excrete salt via one or two tubes on top of their beaks, earning the group the informal name of “tubenoses.” The group includes shearwaters, albatrosses, as well as petrels, and storm petrels.

Here's how the Reddit community reacted to u/Lilybaum's post:

You either get the reference, or you don't.

You will have unlimited drinkable water forever.

Only that level of saltiness could make you act that way.

There's a common misconception that the tube is uniquely used for excreting salt. It's not evident whether these birds process salt any better than other seabirds, like marine ducks and pelicans.

Unfortunately, we can't ask them if it is.

It can give you superpowers if you do it well.

You learn something new every day.

Humans have made a lot of odd choices throughout history.

It's not that easy.

That will only make the bird justifiably angry.

This could solve the world's water problems.

Just getting rid of the extra salt.

If humans could do this, it would be very painful.

Despite not being the primary function, the structure of the tubenose might help prevent the excretions from coming into contact and blowing into their eyes during strong oceanic winds. According to recent evidence, these tubes allow tubenoses to detect plankton blooms on the open ocean by channeling airborne scents.

Albatrosses are also believed to have pressure-sensing nerves in their nasal tubes that help them track rising air currents and stay above. In oceans that are teeming with plastic pollution, seabirds' exquisite sense of smell does them no good.

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Ayoub