transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:03] This is BirdNote. Birds lay eggs. That means they don't nurse their young, right? Well, have you ever heard of something called pigeon milk? Pigeons, one of the most ancient of domesticated birds, feed their nestlings a peculiar milky liquid, straight from the adult's beak to the baby's throat. It's often called crop milk because it comes from special cells in the bird's crop. The crop is a section of the lower esophagus in some birds that's used for storing food before digestion. Unlike milk from mammals, pigeon milk doesn't come from a mammary gland, but it does come loaded with antioxidants and immune boosters that help the new hatchlings survive. A couple of days before their eggs hatch, both pigeon parents start making the milky substance, which they'll feed their hatchlings over the first 10 days of their lives. When the special feeding stops, the special crop milk cells return to normal. Pigeons and doves aren't the only birds that can make this special milk. Flamingos and some species of penguins can too. For BirdNote, I'm Michael Stein. This episode is brought to you by Wild Delight Bird Food, which aims to support wild bird populations with clean, nutritious ingredients in every blend. Available at chewy.com.

Speaker 2:
[01:45] Hey Nick, what's going on with your backyard birds these days? Well, I'll tell you, Mark, I've been trying Wild Delight Bird Seed in my feeder, and it's been amazing to see the amount and diversity of birds that come visit. Just the other day, in under a minute, I saw a nut hatch, a finch, a sparrow, a chickadee, and even a downy woodpecker. Wow, that is a lot of birds. Sounds like way more than you were getting with your old bird food. It's a lot more. And you wanna know something great? Wild Delight is offering BirdNote fans a one time use 20% off code for all of their bird seed blends at chewy.com. Just use the code BirdNote and get 20% off your next purchase. Terms and conditions apply.