Organism
Pigeon
TL;DR
Pigeons demonstrate short-term buffering versus long-term storage.
Pigeons demonstrate short-term buffering versus long-term storage. Their crop (expandable esophageal pouch) stores food for 1-2 days maximum, enabling internal transport rather than external caching. This suits their open-field foraging environment where external caches would face immediate theft.
Notable Traits of Pigeon
- Crop provides 1-2 day internal storage
- Produces crop milk for chicks
- Short-term buffering suits unpredictable food availability