This is a list of herbivorous animals, organized in a roughly taxonomic manner. In general, entries consist of animal species known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, as well as genera and families which contain a preponderance of such species.
Herbivorous animals are heterotrophs, meaning that they consume other organisms for sustenance. The organisms which herbivores consume are primary producers, predominantly plants (including algae). Herbivores which consume land plants may eat any or all of the fruit, leaves, sap, nectar, pollen, flowers, bark, cambium, underground storage organs like roots, tubers, and rhizomes, nuts, seeds, shoots, and other parts of plants; they frequently specialize in one or a few of these parts, though many herbivores also have quite diverse diets. [1]
Animal diets are not inflexible, and most animals will stray from their typical diet on occasion; for instance, cattle will eat chicks, [2] and crocodiles will consume fruit. [3] Though it can be hard to determine what is a true aberration, as opposed to being a normal, but minor component of the diet, animals are still regarded as herbivores, carnivores, or otherwise as long as the vast majority of their diet reflects such a categorization. [1] Thus, several of the animals which appear on this list are commonly described as omnivores, but, where consumption of animal matter is marginal, they meet the criteria for inclusion. These cases are elaborated upon within the article.
Where quantifiable data to support such an evaluation exist, this list generally includes animals whose diets are at least ~90% herbivorous, as a simple and arbitrary minimum, though a great many listees are far more herbivorous than this; perhaps the majority are closer to 95%, and a large number are nearly purely herbivorous. However, a small selection of taxa which are not usually this herbivorous also receive mention; typically, this is done when the animal is much more herbivorous than the vast majority of close relatives. For example, the maned wolf receives mention; its diet varies from mostly carnivorous to overwhelmingly frugivorous, being mostly a fairly balanced omnivore overall, but they are still listed because no other living Canid is nearly so herbivorous. Other animals may receive mention if at least some populations of the species regularly consume very plant-heavy diets.
The issue is further complicated by variation based on region, sex, age, season, and other factors, as well as differing techniques for measuring dietary proportions and a lack of data on many species. A number of listed taxa also consume a significant quantity of fungi. On the whole, however, this list consists almost entirely of animals which are known with good certainty to be overwhelmingly herbivorous, with exceptions being noted.
Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects. Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. [4] Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls. Herbivorous insects also form symbioses with numerous plants, animals, and fungi, including complex relationships with various species of ant, and have greatly impacted the evolution of plants.
Herbivorous fish play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, especially in tropical reefs, where they promote a balance between corals and macroalgae. [17] Herbivorous fish include:
Unusually for tetrapods, herbivory is rare among extant adult lissamphibians. There are, however, many larval and a few adult amphibians which take significant plant matter:
All snakes and the majority of non-snake squamates (lizards) are carnivorous. However, some degree of herbivory is relatively common among lizards. Perhaps 12% of lizards have diets which are >10% herbivorous. Dedicated herbivory, with plants constituting >90% of the diet, occurs in perhaps ~1% of lizards, though estimates vary. [23]
Although, by some counts, only 2-3% of extant bird species are primarily herbivorous, [26] [27] herbivorous birds are nonetheless incredibly diverse, having evolved independently within at least nine distinct lineages. Herbivorous birds include important pollinators and seed dispersers, as well as both the smallest and largest living birds (the bee hummingbird and the common ostrich, respectively). On islands with little to no mammalian colonization, large herbivorous birds frequently evolved to assume niches typically held by mammals, sometimes attaining enormous sizes; on the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Caledonia, and Fiji, birds were nearly if not the largest terrestrial herbivores, though the vast majority are now extinct. Birds which are mostly herbivorous as adults will frequently feed their young a far more insectivorous diet, though there are many exceptions. [28]
Herbivory is quite common among mammals, with herbivores occurring across diverse lineages and in a large variety of sizes, bodyplans, and niches. Both large and small herbivorous mammals are often important prey species for various predators, though the largest, such as the so-called "pachyderms", are generally safe from predation as healthy adults. Large, herbivorous mammals came to dominate global ecosystems in the Cenozoic, and, though vastly reduced in number, they continue to be key features of certain modern ecosystems, such as the Maasai Mara and Kaziranga National Park.
The seedsnipes are a small family, Thinocoridae, of small gregarious waders which have adapted to a herbivorous diet. The family is divided into two genera, Attagis and Thinocorus, each containing two species. The family has a South American distribution, in the Andean and Patagonian regions. The relationships with other families within the order Charadriiformes are uncertain; it has been suggested that the plains wanderer of Australia, the jacanas and the painted snipes are their closest relatives. The plains wanderer in particular has a similar feeding ecology, although differs markedly in breeding biology. The family's common name is misleading, as they do not resemble true snipe, having short bills on small heads, and seeds do not form a major part of the diet. One species Thinocorus rumicivorus is however known to feed on the fleshy flower petal appendages of Calceolaria uniflora, a species of Scrophularaceae. In the process of feeding on these sugar rich appendages, they also pollinate the flowers.
Bycanistes is a genus of medium to large, primarily frugivorous hornbills found in the forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa. They have often been included in the genus Ceratogymna, but today most authorities consider them separate. All species in this genus have black and white plumage. The plumage of the sexes is similar, but the casque of the male is larger than that of the female.
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the Montezuma oropendola or the village weaver—that is too restrictive a definition. For some species, a nest is simply a shallow depression made in sand; for others, it is the knot-hole left by a broken branch, a burrow dug into the ground, a chamber drilled into a tree, an enormous rotting pile of vegetation and earth, a shelf made of dried saliva or a mud dome with an entrance tunnel. The smallest bird nests are those of some hummingbirds, tiny cups which can be a mere 2 cm (0.8 in) across and 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) high. At the other extreme, some nest mounds built by the dusky scrubfowl measure more than 11 m (36 ft) in diameter and stand nearly 5 m (16 ft) tall. The study of birds' nests is known as caliology.
The Trinidad piping guan locally known as the pawi, is a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae, endemic to the island of Trinidad. It is a large bird, somewhat resembling a turkey in appearance, and research has shown that its nearest living relative is the blue-throated piping guan from South America. It is a mainly arboreal species feeding mostly on fruit, but also on flowers and leaves. At one time abundant, it has declined in numbers and been extirpated from much of its natural range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird as "critically endangered".
The Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series was edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A. Christie.
The Key West quail-dove is a species of bird from the doves and pigeon family Columbidae. It is probably most closely related to the bridled quail-dove.
The black-eared wood quail is a bird species in the order Galliformes. Until recently, the species was thought to be part of the family Phasianidae however DNA-DNA hybridization results determined that black-eared wood quail are only distantly related to Old World quail. As a result, black-eared wood quail have been placed in the family Odontophoridae and more specifically, in the category of wood quail.
The thick-billed ground pigeon, also known as the jungle pigeon or the slaty/grey ground pigeon, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is monotypic within the genus Trugon. Native to New Guinea, its natural habitat is moist tropical lowland forest.
The white-mantled kingfisher or New Britain kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to New Britain off Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.
The Madagascar hoopoe is a species of hoopoe in the family Upupidae. It was previously considered a subspecies of the hoopoe, but was split due to its vocalisations and small differences in plumage. Some taxonomists still consider all three species conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together, but split the Madagascar hoopoe. It is endemic to Madagascar, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest. It is a common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers its conservation status to be of least concern.
Eupodotis is a genus of bird in the bustard family Otididae. It contains two species, all restricted to Africa. Species in the genera Afrotis and Lophotis are sometimes included in this genus; however some authorities separate the Karoo korhaan, Rüpell's Korhaan and little brown bustard as a separate genus Heterotetrax.
The barred rail is a species of rail found across the Philippines, Sulawesi (Indonesia) and Salawati. The species is common, but shy and difficult to see.
Lissotis is a genus of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. Some authorities, such as the IUCN, consider it part of Eupodotis; the separation adopted here follows the Handbook of the Birds of the World.
The Cuban warblers are a genus, Teretistris, and family, Teretistridae, of birds endemic to Cuba and its surrounding cays. Until 2002 they were thought to be New World warblers, but DNA studies have shown that they are not closely related to that family. The family consists of two species, the yellow-headed warbler and the Oriente warbler. Both species are found in forest and scrub, with the yellow-headed warbler ranging in the west of the island and the Oriente warbler in the east. The Cuban warblers are 13 cm (5.1 in) long and have similar yellow and grey plumage.
Lophotis is a genus of bustard in the family Otididae. The genus contains three species, all found in Africa. All three species are sometimes placed in the genus Eupodotis, and are closely related to that genus and the genus Afrotis. One distinctive feature of the genus is a pink retractile crest.
Afrotis is a genus of bustard in the family Otididae. The genus is endemic to southern Africa, and contains two species. It is sometimes included in the genus Eupodotis.
Spilopelia is a genus of doves that are closely related to Streptopelia and Nesoenas, but distinguished from them by differences in morphology and genetics. Some authors had argued that Stigmatopelia is the valid name as it appears in an earlier line of the same work by the Swedish zoologist Carl Sundevall, but Richard Schodde and Ian J. Mason had earlier, in their 1999 zoological catalogue of Australian birds, chosen Spilopelia in treating these two names as applying to the same genus; their choice stands under clause 24(b) of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) which supports the decision of the first reviser. The name Spilopelia combines the Ancient Greek spilos meaning "spot" and peleia meaning "dove".
The Maranon antshrike is a passerine bird in the family Thamnophilidae according to some taxonomists. This non-migratory bird is native to Peru.
The Lompobattang fruit-dove is a species of bird in the pigeon family. It is native to Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Burmese collared dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Eurasian collared dove. It differs from Eurasian collared dove in having a bright yellow eye ring, and slightly darker plumage. It is the same 30–32 cm length as the Eurasian collared dove. The song is a two note coo, unlike the three note coo of the Eurasian collared dove.
Green plants constituted 99% of all food in the sample of 19 stomachs. The remaining 1% of organically derived material in stomachs consisted of resin (1/20 stomachs), large seeds (Acacia, corn, 10/20), small (1-3 mm) in- sects including ants, aphids, and flies evidently ingested with plants (5/20), preened feather fragments (1/20), ostrich shell (1/20), antelope fecal pellets (3/20), and mammal bones and teeth (5/20).
The main dietary component was leaf matter (94.30%), with the rest seeds (5.66%) and a small proportion of insects (0.03%)
The lesser rhea's diet showed three components: leaves (93.61%), seeds (6.12%) and insects (0.06%)
Green material constituted, on average, 90.1% of the dry mass of feces of rheas. Green material was followed, in decreasing order of importance, by seeds (8.9%), fruits (0.6%), fragments of insects (0.1%), and vertebrates (<0.1%)
There were traces of arthropod consumption throughout the year, with the highest values in spring (2.9%) and winter (3.0%)
In contrast, in this study, only a single dropping contained ingested insect matter.
The low arthropod biomass found in our study for this single specimen indicates that invertebrates were consumed as supplementary resources, which suggests that the Yellow-legged Tinamou is a [largely] frugivorous bird
Based on our observations, the Black Tinamou has a diet based on fallen fruit and seeds; however, we suppose that this diet could be supplemented with invertebrates and some small vertebrates, as occurs in other tinamou species
The food of galliforms is varied, most species being basically vegetarian . . .
All are primarily vegetarian.
potto.
Most species are herbivores and eat seeds, fruit, nuts, leaves, and other plant parts. Some species may also eat insects.
Most species eat nuts and seeds. Some species may also eat fungi, insects, eggs, and small vertebrate animals.
Non-plant items made up 4.1% of the total scat volume
In Gabon, average stomach content was about 80 % fruit and 20 % diverse prey items.