So, some carnivores eat bugs. They are insectivores.
Some carnivores eat snakes. That is ophiophagy.
Hell, there’s even terms for blood-eaters (hematophagy) and eating ants specifically (myrmecophagy). But god forbid there be a term for something that eats eggs.
I have a carnivore that eats eggs and baby birds - avivore covers birds, but is it inclusive of egg-stealing also? If it isn’t, then what the hell is the word I’m looking for?
Oophagy seems to be restricted to in-utero egg cannibalism, and oviraptor is a specific species name that I want to avoid, and ovophagy or oovore don’t seem to exist as words.
Many thanks!
God damnit, that was the first thing I looked up and didn’t find anything. I think that means it’s time to take a break and eat something.
Actually, thinking about it, I think I tried ovivorous first, and I probably misspelled it.
I swear, sometimes I wonder if my brain just goes on break without telling me first.
Thank you for answering a stupid question kindly.
Actually, oophagy is a more general term that applies to egg-eating in general, e.g. oophagous snakes. It’s not restricted to in utero cannibalism (as in sharks). That’s the term I would use.
In the biological literature, the most common term for the behavior you describe is simply “nest predator.”