When people think about bird parenting, images of worms and seeds delivered to gaping beaks usually come to mind. Pigeons, however, have a far more unusual—and fascinating—approach to feeding their young. Instead of foraging for tiny meals, pigeon parents produce a nutrient-rich substance often called crop milk. Even more surprising: both the female and the male can produce it.
What Is Crop Milk?
Crop milk isn’t milk in the mammalian sense, but it serves a similar purpose. It’s a thick, creamy secretion produced in a pouch of the bird’s esophagus called the crop. In pigeons, the lining of the crop thickens and sheds cells that are packed with fats, proteins, and immune-boosting compounds. The result is a highly nutritious food perfectly designed for fast-growing chicks.
Feeding the Squabs
Baby pigeons—called squabs—are born helpless and unable to digest solid food. For the first several days of life, they rely entirely on crop milk. The parent pigeon feeds the chick by placing its beak inside the chick’s mouth and regurgitating the milk directly into it. This close-contact feeding ensures the squab gets enough nourishment and warmth during its most vulnerable stage.
As the chicks grow, the parents gradually mix softened seeds and grains into the crop milk. Over time, the proportion of solid food increases until the young pigeons are ready to eat independently.
Yes, the Male Produces Milk Too
One of the most remarkable aspects of pigeon parenting is that male pigeons can generate crop milk just like females. Hormonal changes—particularly increases in prolactin—trigger milk production in both sexes. This allows pigeon pairs to share feeding duties more equally, ensuring that their chicks are well-fed even if one parent is away or resting.
This shared responsibility is a big reason pigeons are such successful urban birds. With two parents capable of nourishing their young from day one, squabs have a strong chance of survival.
Why This Matters
Crop milk is rare in the animal kingdom, found in only a few bird groups such as pigeons, doves, and flamingos. It’s an elegant evolutionary solution: a built-in baby food that requires no hunting or foraging during the chick’s earliest days.
So, the next time you spot a pigeon strutting across a sidewalk, remember—behind that ordinary exterior is a surprisingly sophisticated parent, capable of producing “milk” and raising its young with a method that’s truly one of nature’s oddest wonders.