Birds can be fed scraps from your kitchen, and rice is no exception. Feeding birds rice is an acceptable practice that will not harm the birds at all.

All birds can easily digest cooked rice whether it is brown or white. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, cooked rice is nutritious as long as there is no salt added.

Uncooked rice is hard and it is less interesting to birds as a whole. While pigeons, doves and pheasants will eat uncooked rice, it is too large and hard for the smaller species. For this reason, avoid birdseed mixes that contain dry rice.

A common misconception is that rice expands in a bird's stomach, causing the bird to die. This is a myth, as birds in the wild eat rice in the field with no ill effects. It is perfectly safe to throw rice at a wedding, as the birds can easily eat the rice without harm.