Do pigeon squabs drink milk?

Image reference –https://www.warrenphotographic.co.uk/19920-domestic-pigeon-feeding-young

As we all know mammals are the animals who feed their babies with milk which is
produced in their mammary glands. But have you ever heard about crop milk? It is
something really interesting to look at. The production of crop milk is rare among
birds but can be seen in pigeons, flamingoes, male emperor penguins etc. The
crop is an expanded muscular pouch located closer the throat and it is also used
to store food before digestion.

Both pigeon parents tend to produce crop milk couple of days before the eggs
hatch. The production is triggered by the release of Prolactin hormone. It has
been found that the crop milk is nutritious as same as the mammalian milk and it
is rich with all the antioxidants and the immune boosters specially IgA which are
directly associated with the growth and the development of the baby pigeons.
Over the first ten days from the birth the nestlings are fed with the crop milk. The
amazing fact is that the nestling has to obtain milk by poking its bill down to the
parent’s throat.

Although the pigeon crop milk is white in color several studies show that crop
milk of different birds ranges in color from whitish to yellow, gray, beige or red.

Image reference –https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/genetic/fancy-a-cup-of-pigeon-milk/amp/

Author -Chathushka Hettige
Undergraduate(Chem. Special)
University of Colombo
Faculty of Science

References – https://www.audubon.org/news/pigeon-milk-nutritious-treat-chicks