How Do Birds Chew Food?
Birds have a complicated digestive system and use both their beaks and their stomachs to chew their food.BeakBirds often use their beaks or bills to break apart seeds, insects and other food. Many birds also have saliva glands that help them begin to soften the food and make it easier to chew. This is more common in birds that eat insects.StomachAfter birds swallow food it travels to their two-part stomachs, which is where the real chewing begins.Glandular stomachThe glandular stomach, called a proventriculus, produces digestive enzymes that prepare the food to be chewed up in the second, lower part of their stomachGizzardBirds do most of their chewing in the gizzard, which is the lower part of their stomach. The gizzard is very muscular in most bird species and grinds up their food into small pieces that can be easily digested.Gizzard StonesSome birds, especially those that eat seeds, will swallow small pebbles that will remain in the gizzard and act as teeth to help to grind up food.
