Humans use clay for a variety of reasons, bentonite clay is used on the skin and hair, it is said to remove toxins and give you that squeaky clean feeling.

Modeling clay is used by children to play, explore and enjoy. Types of edible clay can be used in medicine to relieve stomach disorders and diarrhoea, but humans aren’t the only species that use clay. Birds use clay as well, this article explores the question of ‘do pigeons eat clay’. 

Pigeons can eat clay, clay is beneficial to birds as it can help adsorb harmful toxins that your bird may have accidentally ingested through eating certain seeds. Eating clay allows birds to benefit from the nutrients in the seeds without being negatively affected by the toxins in the seeds.

Do pigeons eat clay?

Birds that eat clay:

Birds of all types eat clay all the time, and pigeons can too.

Parrots are birds that are known to eat clay. Parrots, in the wild, have a habit of eating seeds that contain alkaloid toxins. To combat toxicity, parrots seek out river beds in search of exposed clay deposits, these are known as “clay links”.

Parrots will then eat the clay from the river bed and once in the bird’s body, the clay will absorb any toxins thus preventing the bird from suffering the negative effects of ingesting the toxic seeds.

Pigeons eating clay

In theory, pigeons can also benefit from eating clay if they ingest seeds that contain toxic compounds. Just as humans use charcoal pills to absorb toxins in our bodies, pigeons can eat clay to get rid of toxins from seeds accidentally ingested.

Seeds that contain toxins include apple seeds, acorn seeds, and peach pits to name a few

Another benefit that pigeons enjoy as a result of eating clay is the delivery of sodium. Plant matter does contain sodium but clay contains higher levels of sodium per serving.

The benefit of sodium in a bird’s body is that it helps nutrients be better absorbed into the bird’s bloodstream. 

What other animals eat clay 

Pigeons and parrots aren’t the only animals that are known to eat clay, other animals also eat it. They eat clay to have access to the high levels of sodium that it contains.

As the seasons change an animal’s summer diet may not be sufficient in winter or vice versa, if this is the case, the animal may need to eat clay. Animals like gorillas, elephants and bats are known to feast on sodium-rich clay to supplement their diets. 

Clay also contains other minerals that can add to an animals diet, these minerals include iron and calcium which are helpful in energy production and a variety of other biological processes.

Animals like African buffalos and mountain gorillas eat clay for added iron which promotes red blood cell development 

Conclusion

In conclusion, clay helps to remove toxins from the bodies of pigeons who have accidentally eaten seeds that contain toxic compounds.

Not only that, but clay also offers birds minerals such as iron, calcium and sodium which aid in the biological processes of a number of animals including pigeons.

Other animals that eat clay include African buffalos and mountain gorillas.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other pigeon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Can pigeons eat oats?,  Do pigeons eat chicken?, Do pigeons eat bugs?, Do pigeons eat meat?