Carnivore

A Eurasian Sparrowhawk feeding on a House Sparrow.

A Red-tailed Hawk feeding on a squirrel.

A Venus Flytrap.

An animal that eats meat. Examples include hawks, eagles, kites, falcons and owls. The carnivorous birds are considered supreme as hunters of living prey but are also known to scavenge, or to feed on the flesh of dead animals.

Some other birds, even songbirds, even songbirds, will occasionally eat meat if they have an opportunity, but carnivorous birds are exclusively meat-eaters.

Examples

• The Western Grebe, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, and other terns, Black Skimmer, Anhinga, Double-rested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, American White Pelican, Frigatebirds and Osprey all feed exclusively on fish.
• Rufous-tailed Jacamar feeds on butterflies, dragonflies, bees, wasps, and flying beetles.
• Toco Toucan sometimes feeds on the eggs and chicks and small birds.

See also

• Birds that eat insects are called insectivorous, birds that feed on fish are called piscivorous, birds that eat other birds are called avivorous.
• Carnivorous plants
• Carnivorous fungi
• Carnivora
• Kleptoparasitism

A Western Gull feeding on a starfish.

References

This article is part of Project Glossary, an All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each term related to animals.

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This article is part of Project Animal Behaviour, a All Birds project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each term general related to animals.