Birding/baby sparrow

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Expert: - 12/20/2007


Question
Hi there i have a baby sparrow and he is tiny! just growing feathers and doing better each day i have noticed when i feed i a kind of white bubble fills with the food on the side of its neck where the feathers are growing and i am worried about if thats going to hurt it in any way?

Answer
I think what you are referring to is its crop, an expansion of the esophagus. The food collects there and the crop expands. The food is then slowly released into the stomach for digestion. See www.ornithology.com/rehab.html for more on raising baby birds.

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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