ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Crop milk

So, you know how baby birds need food to grow big and strong? Well, some birds have a special kind of food they feed their babies called crop milk.

Now, this isn't the same kind of milk that comes from cows or goats. In fact, it's not even really milk at all! It's more like a special kind of gooey liquid that the adult bird makes in a part of their throat called the crop.

When the baby bird is hungry, the adult bird regurgitates (or throws up) a little bit of this crop milk into their mouth. The baby bird then swallows it and uses it to grow strong and healthy.

Crop milk has all kinds of good stuff in it, like protein, vitamins, and fat. It's super important for baby birds to have so that they can grow and be ready to leave the nest someday. Pretty cool, huh?