Black Twitter is up in arms over a viral video that shows a small bird eating from a woman’s plate.
The video, reminiscent of a Disney princess movie where birds and other animals flock to the main character, raised questions about sanitary practices around food. It went viral after being shared by popular Twitter user @BornaKang, amassing a whopping 41 million views.
The caption accompanying the clip reads, “Damn if this wasn’t recorded no one would believe it.”
Originally posted by @777laurenz, the video quickly spread across various social media platforms. In the 33-second clip, a woman can be seen enjoying her pasta meal when suddenly a sparrow swoops in and starts pecking at the metal bowl of spaghetti and marinara sauce.
“This bird is probably starving,” the woman says.
“Oh my God,” she says softly, as the sparrow flies away.
“I don’t even blame him,” she says, before digging back into the plate with a fork.
Many viewers on TikTok implied that the bird may have been attracted to the woman’s pleasing features or her “beautiful soul.” However, the comments on Twitter took a different turn, as many users pointed out that the woman ate from the same dish as an animal.
“This is exactly how a pandemic starts,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another user chimed in with, “I know for a fact that bird pecked on a few old pieces of gum in the street before her plate!”
“Why would you just sit there and let that happen?” another Twitter user asked.
Birds can carry germs that can make people sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those germs can cause minor skin infections to serious illnesses.
According to Medical News Today, birds and their droppings can spread over 60 other diseases. The most common birds ones can carry are cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis and psittacosis.
People can get cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis by breathing in the microscopic fungus from the environment, according to the CDC. Psittacosis can be contracted by breathing in dust from droppings or respiratory secretions of infected birds, and they infect people through bites and beak-to-mouth contact.
Sparrows have been known to cause salmonellosis, which is most commonly referred to as food poisoning, and they can also spread E.coli., a bacteria that can cause stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, research shows.
Although it’s unclear if the woman in the video suffered from any ailment because the bird pecked from her meal, some viewers reasoned that she ate from another side of the large bowl, and may be safe.
