What Do Dodo Birds Eat?

September 2022 · 2 minute read

Have you ever wondered what did dodo birds eat when they were still alive? Ancient flightless land birds called dodo birds had a peculiar diet consisting of odd food items. Native to Mauritius, dodo birds foraged on a myriad of food options available in the wild. Not to mention, dodo birds had a diet similar to other birds like pigeons. Typically, dodo birds were fond of a bunch of fruits. Read on to learn what else they thrived on dwelling in their habitats.

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Insects, Animals, and Fish

The appearances of the dodo birds make them seem like carnivores. But that is not the case with these medium-sized birds seen to walk around searching for food. Dodo birds weren’t the hunters of prey. While they possessed a strong and large beak, dodo birds could break open the hard food items.

It is reported, however, that dodo birds had a greedy and voracious diet, especially in captivity. How much of that is true is still unknown, though. Hence, dodo birds didn’t eat mammals, other birds, or insects as they weren’t fond of picking at flesh. On the other hand, dodo birds eat fish and crustaceans like shellfish and crab.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants

Dodo birds had access to plenty of food sources in the wild and in captivity. This is the reason why they didn’t run out of food options because of food shortage.

Like their other distant relatives, dodo birds eat bulbs, roots, seeds, nuts, fruit, plants, and other vegetation. Dodo birds were fruit-eating birds. Given their odd dietary habits, dodo birds eat rocks and watermelon as well.

What dodo birds didn’t eat?

Dodo birds didn’t eat insects, bugs, or other flying or flightless birds. Apart from these, dodo birds didn’t eat humans or meat, especially that of other animals. They did graze the vegetation, but dodo birds didn’t eat grass.

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