What is Herbivore, carnivore, omnivore? — Biology

Definition 10.1 Primary & Middle School Biology · Chapter 10 — What Animals Eat

Animals are sorted by what they eat:

a herbivore eats plants: grass, leaves, seeds, fruit — the rabbit, the cow, the snail;
a carnivore eats other animals: the fox, the cat, the ladybug (which hunts tiny plant lice);
an omnivore eats both plants and animals: the blackbird, the wild boar — and humans.

A herbivore at work: the rabbit and the meadow, blade by blade.

Examples

Example 10.2 (One meadow, three menus)

In one summer meadow: the rabbit crops the grass (herbivore); the fox hunts the rabbit (carnivore); the blackbird takes a worm now, a cherry later (omnivore). Three neighbors, three menus — and notice that the fox’s dinner ate grass first.

Example 10.5 (The cat’s teeth)

Watch a cat yawn: long pointed teeth at the front corners of its mouth. Those are seizing teeth — a carnivore’s equipment. The cow, yawning, would show none: her mouth is all wide, flat grinders for grass.

Example 10.8 (Winter changes the menu)

Food changes with the seasons. The blackbird eats worms and insects in summer, but in winter, when the ground is hard, it switches to berries. An omnivore’s wide menu is a great help when times get hard.

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Examples

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