Anseriformes are highly adapted for feeding in aquatic environments. Most species use their specialized bills to filter-feed, straining small plants and animals from the water, while others graze on aquatic vegetation or scour for invertebrates. This order includes ducks, geese, and swans, which exhibit diverse feeding strategies aligned with their habitats—from surface dabbling to underwater diving.
- Members of Anseriformes include ducks, geese, and swans.
- Their bills often have lamellae—comb-like structures—for filtering food.
- They consume a variety of foods: algae, seeds, aquatic invertebrates, and more.
- Feeding methods include dabbling, grazing, and diving.
Anseriformes have bills with lamellae that enable them to filter food from water, a key adaptation for their feeding behavior.
Anseriformes typically consume aquatic plants, invertebrates, and seeds.
Dabbling ducks commonly scoop food from the water surface, not pursuing it underwater or foraging in trees.
Swans and geese mainly feed by grazing on vegetation and pulling up underwater plants.