Rice has a strange reputation thanks to an old wedding myth, so let us clear it up: plain rice is perfectly safe for birds, cooked or uncooked.
The short answer
Yes — birds can eat plain rice. Cooked or uncooked, white or brown, plain rice is safe and easy to digest. The only rule is to keep it plain: no salt, butter, oil or seasoning, all of which are bad for birds.
Busting the wedding rice myth
You may have heard that throwing uncooked rice at weddings harms birds because it swells inside them. This is simply not true — it is a well-debunked myth. Wild birds eat rice and other grains all the time, and rice is a natural food in many parts of the world where birds feed happily in rice paddies. Uncooked rice does not expand fast enough to hurt a bird.
How to feed rice to your bird
Plain cooked rice, cooled to room temperature, is a gentle food that many birds like, and it mixes well with chopped vegetables. Uncooked rice is also fine, though cooked is easier for small beaks. Brown rice offers a little more nutrition than white. Just never add salt, sauce or seasoning.