Avian stomach anatomy – a mini review

The stomach of birds comprises three parts – glandular (proventriculus gastris), muscular (ventriculus gastris) and pyloric (pars pylorica gastris). Depending on the diet, these three parts are well differentiated in omnivorous, herbivorous, insectivorous and granivorous birds and slightly differentiated in fish- and meateaters. In fruit-eating, nectar-eating and testacivorous birds, the stomach has an intermediate structure between the two types. In some birds from the genus Tangara, the stomach is reduced to a diverticulum.