granivorous

American  

[gruh-niv-er-uhs] / grəˈnɪv ər əs /

adjective

1. (of an animal, especially a bird) eating grain and seeds.

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granivorous British  

/ ˈɡrænɪˌvɔː, ɡræˈnɪvərəs /

adjective

1. (of animals) feeding on seeds and grain

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Other Word Forms

• granivore noun

Etymology

Origin of granivorous

First recorded in 1640–50; grani- ( def. ) + -vorous ( def. )

Example Sentences

Adj. eatable, edible, esculent†, comestible, alimentary; cereal, cibarious†; dietetic; culinary; nutritive, nutritious; gastric; succulent; potable, potulent†; bibulous. omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, granivorous, graminivorous, phytivorous; ichthyivorous; omophagic, omophagous; pantophagous, phytophagous, xylophagous.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark

The bobolink is an insectivorous bird in the North, or until its brood has flown, and a granivorous bird in the South.

From The Writings of John Burroughs — Volume 05: Pepacton by Burroughs, John

The Professorin added in continuation:— "But yet the granivorous birds are no more virtuous than the insectivorous; each kind lives in accordance with its own law."

From Villa Eden: The Country-House on the Rhine by Auerbach, Berthold

Thirty-five to forty species of granivorous birds, among which we occasionally find in winter that rare Arctic bird, the Evening Grosbeak.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 43, May, 1861 Creator by Various

Seed′-drill, a machine for sowing seed in rows; Seed′-eat′er, a granivorous bird.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various