Food Source

Although many birds eat more than one type of food I find it useful to review the birds according to what I see as their main food source:-

  • Plant eaters - Grazers and Foragers - two sub-groups in Terrestrial and Aquatic environments.
  • Flesh eaters - Hunters - two sub-groups, Fish and Meat eaters. Further divided into Diurnal and Nocturnal.
  • Fruit Eaters -mainly, but not exclusively, defined by geographic location - tropics favoured.
  • Invertebrate Eaters - Aquatic and Terrestrial sub-groups. Further divided according to feeding technique.
  • Insect Eaters -Wide-spread in all regions. Sub-groups defined by feeding technique.
  • Nectar Eaters -Tropical regions, associated with flowering plants, perch and probe as well as hovering feeders.
  • Seed Eaters - Wide-spread in both Old World and New World regions.