zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...

, a florivore (not to be confused with a folivore) is an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

which mainly eats products of

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

. Florivores are types of

herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

(often referred to as floral herbivores), yet within the feeding behaviour of florivory, there are a range of other more specific feeding behaviours, including, but not limited to: * Granivory: the consumption of grain and seeds *

Nectarivory In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...

: the consumption of flower nectar * Palynivory: the consumption of flower pollen * Frugivory: the consumption of fruit

Diet

A florivore's diet consists of bulky foodstuffs, including the items mentioned above, yet also bark, roots, and similar items. Many florivores are also omnivores, meaning that their diets can also be supplemented by various small insects, for instance.

Examples

The majority of birds in the

Psittacine Psittacinae is a subfamily of Afrotropical or Old World parrots, native to sub-Saharan Africa, which include twelve species and two extant genera. Among the species is the iconic grey parrot. The ''Poicephalus'' are usually green birds with dif ...

family are florivores, which includes most parrots,

parakeets A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflected in ...

, macaws, and cockatoos. Other notable florivores are

hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

sparrows Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or he ...

, and toucans.
The

crab-eating macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...

acts as an invasive florivore in Mauritius, where it forages voraciously on flowers of native plants, including the endangered, endemic Roussea simplex. Parrot

References

External links

* *

Bibliography

* Approaches to Plant Evolutionary Ecology by G.P. Cheplick * Poultry Nutrition: A Comparative Approach by K. C. Klasing (Department of animal science, University of California, Davis, California 95616, 2005) {{Feeding Animals by eating behaviors Herbivory

Diet

Examples

See also

References

External links

Bibliography