10/17/2025
Let's talk about bird saliva (This one goes out to you Lisa!)
Unlike humans, parrots don't really have salivary glands (they have them to help lubricate food going down but it’s not nearly used in the same way as human salivary glands) . This might seem strange at first since the idea of having dry mouth makes us all cringe but for mammals saliva plays an important role in breaking down food chemically before it even reaches the stomach. Parrots, like many other birds, have evolved a completely different digestive strategy that makes saliva unnecessary.
Instead of relying on salivary enzymes, parrots use their beaks to mechanically break food into smaller pieces. Once swallowed, food is stored temporarily in the crop, a muscular pouch in the esophagus. From there, it travels to the gizzard, a powerful, muscular organ that grinds the food down (mortar and pestle). This means digestion in parrots is primarily mechanical until it reaches the stomach and intestines, where digestive enzymes finally come into play. Because of this, parrots just don’t need the salivary glands like we do.
With this said, a parrot’s mouth and beak should be dry. A wet mouth or beak can be a red flag. In many cases, excessive moisture is a sign of bacterial or fungal infection. Other potential causes of a wet beak include viral infections, stress, or vomiting (like when birds get car sick).
-Madison
