White-cheeked turaco - Menelikornis leucotis - captive

The term softbill is non-scientific term that has been used in

aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity. Aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (class '' Aves'') in captivity in controlled conditions, normally within the confines of a ...

for numerous years to describe a diverse range of bird species based upon their dietary habits. It has no fixed taxonomic meaning and can be misleading, as many species that fall into the category do not have a soft bill at all. Softbills are also referred to as such in aviculture to differentiate them from another commonly-kept group of birds, the hookbills - i.e. the

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

s. The proper use of the term is in reference to the ‘soft food’ diets which typically fall into the following six categories: *

Carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

– those that feed on small mammals, birds or other vertebrates (e.g.

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s, rollers) *

Insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

– those that feed on insects and other invertebrates (e.g.

bee-eater The bee-eaters are a group of birds in the family (biology), family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty-one species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characte ...

s, flycatchers) *

Omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

– those that feed on both animal and plant material (e.g.

Corvid Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Curre ...

hornbill Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper ...

s) *

Frugivorous A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

– those that feed on fruit (e.g.

turaco The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae ( "banana-eaters"), which includes '' plantain-eaters'' and '' go-away-birds''. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as loeries. They are semi-zygodactylous: the ...

fruit dove The fruit doves, also known as fruit pigeons, are a genus (''Ptilinopus'') of birds in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is a large gen ...

s) * Nectarivorous – those that feed on flower nectar (e.g.

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s) *

Folivorous In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

– those that feed on leaves, petals and other plant material (

mousebird The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Cavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes ( trogons), Bucerotiformes ( hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes ( wo ...

s) This sixth diet type is usually in association with one of the above, as very few birds are solely folivorous. Several species of

Galliformes Galliformes is an order (biology), order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey (bird), turkeys, chickens, Old World quail, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems ...

are folivores, however they are not considered to be softbills. A more recent definition by Clive Roots is, “Cage and aviary birds with relatively soft bills, which feed upon insects* and soft plant material and whose young are helpless at birth”. - including other larger animal prey This latter definition does discriminate against a few species, however as can be seen, the definition is very subjective and can encompass numerous species not generally included in the group.

References

*This article incorporates text taken with permission fro
Softbills.org
*The New Softbill Handbook Werner & Steinigeweg *The Bird Keeper's Guide to Softbills David Alderton *Softbills: their care, breeding & conservation Martin Vince *''Encyclopedia of Softbilled Birds'' Dr. Matthew Vriends *''Softbilled Birds'' Clive Roots *''The Encyclopedia of Aviculture'' Aviculture Bird common names