I feed leftover white rice (or brown) to our chickens. I don't let it dry--just give it to them as it comes off our plates.
I don't think it would be harmful to birds since the chickens love it and it does them no harm. It will attract ants, etc. if left out very long, so perhaps you might want to put out a little bit to get eaten up before the pests find it.

I have a pier where I put leftovers out for the seagulls. They love the rice. I figure that they are going to go down to the transfer station (county dump) and eat there, so at least I know the food that I give them isn't rotten. The fly over ever time they see me walking out with something in my hands.