Abstract
Birds consume a wide variety of food items that must be digested and absorbed. In this chapter, I provide detailed information about avian diets and the different avian dietary guilds, including insectivores, frugivores, invertivores, granivores, carnivores, scavengers, nectarivores, herbivores, and omnivores. The anatomy and physiology of the avian digestive system are also discussed in detail, with information about the interspecific variation in the anatomy and functions of each component of the digestive system, including bills, the esophagus, two-part stomach, small and large intestine ceca, cloaca, and accessory organs, including the pancreas and liver. Information about the phenotypic plasticity of the avian digestive system and regulation of food intake is also provided.
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Ritchison, G. (2023). Locating, Obtaining, Ingesting, and Digesting Food. In: In a Class of Their Own. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14852-1_5
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