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Omnivores (from Latin: omni all, everything; vorare(infinitive) to devour) are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively. Pigs are one well-known example of an omnivore.^[1] Crows are another example of an omnivore that many people see every day.^[2] Humans are also well-known omnivores.^[3]^[4] Although the term omnivore literally means eater of everything, omnivores other than humans cannot really eat "everything" that other animals eat; they can only eat things that are at least moderately easy to get and still at least moderately nutritious. For example, most of them cannot live by grazing (easy to get, but not nutritious enough), not can they eat some hard-shelled animals or successfully hunt large or fast prey (nutritious, but too hard to get).

Although there are reported cases of herbivores eating meat matter, as well as examples of carnivores eating plants, the classification refers to the adaptations and main food source of the species in general, so these exceptions do not make either individual animals nor the species as a whole omnivores.

Most bear species are considered omnivores, but individuals' diets can range from almost exclusively herbivorous to almost exclusively carnivorous, depending on what food sources are available locally and seasonally. Polar bears can be classified as carnivores while pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo and are therefore herbivores, although giant pandas will eat some meat from time to time.

Species considered omnivorous

Various mammals are omnivorous by nature, such as humans, pigs, badgers, bears, coatis, hedgehogs, opossums, skunks, sloths, squirrels^[5], raccoons, chipmunks^[6], mice^[7] and rats^[8]. Also some primates are omnivorous including chimpanzees^[9]^[10]. Various birds are omnivorous, whose diet varies from berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, and small rodents; examples include cassowarys, chickens, corvids/crows, magpies, ravens, rooks, keas, rallidae and rheas. In addition, some lizards, turtles, fish, such as piranhas, and invertebrates are also omnivorous.

References

^ Brent Huffman. "Family Suidae (Pigs)". UltimateUngulate.com. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
^ Seattle Audubon Society. "Family Corvidae (Crows/Ravens)". BirdWeb.org. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
^ Adapted from a talk by John McArdle, Ph.D. "Humans are Omnivores". Vegetarian Resource Group. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
^ "Omnivores". NatureWorks, New Hampshire Public Television. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
^ "Tree Squirrels". The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ "Eastern Chipmunk". Wonder Club. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ "Florida Mouse". United States Fauna. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ "Brown Rat". Science Daily. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
^ "Chimps on the Hunt". BBC. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
^ "Savanna Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus, Hunt with Tools". Science Direct. Retrieved 2010-03-23.

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Feeding behaviours

Carnivores

adult	Avivore Egg predation Hematophagy Insectivore Lepidophagy Man-eating animal Molluscivore Mucophagy Myrmecophagy Ophiophagy Piscivore Spongivore Vermivore
reproductive	Oophagy Paedophagy Placentophagy Breastfeeding Weaning
cannibalistic	Animal cannibalism Human cannibalism Self-cannibalism Sexual cannibalism

Herbivores

Cellular

Others

Methods

v t e Ecology: Modelling ecosystems: Trophic components
General	Abiotic component Abiotic stress Behaviour Biogeochemical cycle Biomass Biotic component Biotic stress Carrying capacity Competition Ecosystem Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem model Green world hypothesis Keystone species List of feeding behaviours Metabolic theory of ecology Productivity Resource Restoration
Producers	Autotrophs Chemosynthesis Chemotrophs Foundation species Kinetotrophs Mixotrophs Myco-heterotrophy Mycotroph Organotrophs Photoheterotrophs Photosynthesis Photosynthetic efficiency Phototrophs Primary nutritional groups Primary production
Consumers	Apex predator Bacterivore Carnivores Chemoorganotroph Foraging Generalist and specialist species Intraguild predation Herbivores Heterotroph Heterotrophic nutrition Insectivore Mesopredators Mesopredator release hypothesis Omnivores Optimal foraging theory Planktivore Predation Prey switching
Decomposers	Chemoorganoheterotrophy Decomposition Detritivores Detritus
Microorganisms	Archaea Bacteriophage Lithoautotroph Lithotrophy Marine Microbial cooperation Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Phage ecology
Food webs	Biomagnification Ecological efficiency Ecological pyramid Energy flow Food chain Trophic level
Example webs	Lakes Rivers Soil Tritrophic interactions in plant defense Marine food webs cold seeps hydrothermal vents intertidal kelp forests North Pacific Gyre San Francisco Estuary tide pool
Processes	Ascendency Bioaccumulation Cascade effect Climax community Competitive exclusion principle Consumer–resource interactions Copiotrophs Dominance Ecological network Ecological succession Energy quality Energy systems language f-ratio Feed conversion ratio Feeding frenzy Mesotrophic soil Nutrient cycle Oligotroph Paradox of the plankton Trophic cascade Trophic mutualism Trophic state index
Defense, counter	Animal coloration Anti-predator adaptations Camouflage Deimatic behaviour Herbivore adaptations to plant defense Mimicry Plant defense against herbivory Predator avoidance in schooling fish

v t e Ecology: Modelling ecosystems: Other components
Population ecology	Abundance Allee effect Consumer-resource model Depensation Ecological yield Effective population size Intraspecific competition Logistic function Malthusian growth model Maximum sustainable yield Overpopulation Overexploitation Population cycle Population dynamics Population modeling Population size Predator–prey (Lotka–Volterra) equations Recruitment Small population size Stability Resilience Resistance Random generalized Lotka–Volterra model
Species	Biodiversity Density-dependent inhibition Ecological effects of biodiversity Ecological extinction Endemic species Flagship species Gradient analysis Indicator species Introduced species Invasive species / Native species Latitudinal gradients in species diversity Minimum viable population Neutral theory Occupancy–abundance relationship Population viability analysis Priority effect Rapoport's rule Relative abundance distribution Relative species abundance Species diversity Species homogeneity Species richness Species distribution Species–area curve Umbrella species
Species interaction	Antibiosis Biological interaction Commensalism Community ecology Ecological facilitation Interspecific competition Mutualism Parasitism Storage effect Symbiosis
Spatial ecology	Biogeography Cross-boundary subsidy Ecocline Ecotone Ecotype Disturbance Edge effects Foster's rule Habitat fragmentation Ideal free distribution Intermediate disturbance hypothesis Insular biogeography Land change modeling Landscape ecology Landscape epidemiology Landscape limnology Metapopulation Patch dynamics r/K selection theory Resource selection function Source–sink dynamics
Niche	Ecological niche Ecological trap Ecosystem engineer Environmental niche modelling Guild Habitat marine habitats Limiting similarity Niche apportionment models Niche construction Niche differentiation Ontogenetic niche shift
Other networks	Assembly rules Bateman's principle Bioluminescence Ecological collapse Ecological debt Ecological deficit Ecological energetics Ecological indicator Ecological threshold Ecosystem diversity Emergence Extinction debt Kleiber's law Liebig's law of the minimum Marginal value theorem Thorson's rule Xerosere
Other	Allometry Alternative stable state Balance of nature Biological data visualization Ecological economics Ecological footprint Ecological forecasting Ecological humanities Ecological stoichiometry Ecopath Ecosystem based fisheries Endolith Evolutionary ecology Functional ecology Industrial ecology Macroecology Microecosystem Natural environment Regime shift Sexecology Systems ecology Urban ecology Theoretical ecology
Outline of ecology

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 [[Crow]]s are another example of an omnivore that many people see every day.<ref name="crow">
 {{cite-web |url=http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=318
-|title=Family Corvidae (Crows/Ravens) |accessdate=2007-12-31 |author=Seattle Audubon Society| publisher=BirdWeb.org}}</ref> [[Human]]s are also well-known omnivores.<ref name="humansareomnivores">{{cite web |url=http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/omni.htm |title=Humans are Omnivores |accessdate=2007-12-29 |author= Adapted from a talk by John McArdle, Ph.D.|date= |work= |publisher=Vegetarian Resource Group}}</ref><ref>{{cite-web|url=http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep10b.htm|publisher=NatureWorks, New Hampshire Public Television|accessdate=2009-09-09|title=Omnivores}}</ref>
+|title=Family Corvidae (Crows/Ravens) |accessdate=2007-12-31 |author=Seattle Audubon Society| publisher=BirdWeb.org}}</ref> [[Human]]s are also well-known omnivores.<ref name="humansareomnivores">{{cite web |url=http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/omni.htm |title=Humans are Omnivores |accessdate=2007-12-29 |author= Adapted from a talk by John McArdle, Ph.D.|date= |work= |publisher=Vegetarian Resource Group}}</ref><ref>{{cite-web|url=http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep10b.htm|publisher=NatureWorks, New Hampshire Public Television|accessdate=2009-09-09|title=Omnivores}}</ref> Although the term ''omnivore'' literally means ''eater of everything'', omnivores other than humans cannot really eat "everything" that other animals eat; they can only eat things that are at least moderately easy to get and still at least moderately nutritious. For example, most of them cannot live by [[grazing]] (easy to get, but not nutritious enough), not can they eat some hard-shelled animals or successfully hunt large or fast prey (nutritious, but too hard to get).
 Although there are reported cases of [[herbivore]]s eating meat matter, as well as examples of [[carnivore]]s eating [[plant]]s, the classification refers to the adaptations and main food source of the species in general, so these exceptions do not make either individual animals nor the species as a whole omnivores.