Diet of a generalist farmland predator Little Owl Athene noctua in different food supply conditions

• Main Authors: Chrenková, M., Jacobsen, L. B., Sunde, P., Krištín, A., Obuch, J., Šálek, M. (Martin), Thorup, K.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: little owl; Common vole
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0254914

Diet composition of a generalist farmland predator, the Little Owl Athene noctua, was studied under the condition of food stress in intensive farmland at the northernmost limit of its distribution range in Europe. Altogether 542 pellets were collected in seven territories during March - November 2011. At five of the seven studied localities (n = 477 pellets), birds received supplemental food (poultry chicken) as part of the conservation plan to support the declining\npopulation. In total, 6148 prey items were identified, invertebrates dominated all samples (n = 5933, N = 96.5%). Beetles (Coleoptera) were the most abundant prey in numbers (n=5110, N=83.1%), occurring in all pellet samples. The most numerous genus, Pterostichus sp., was most dominant in pitfall traps at all study sites. From the vertebrate prey, artificially supplied poultry chicken dominated the diet of supplemented pairs in biomass (35.18%), being present in pellets of all seasons. Common vole dominated vertebrate prey of pairs without feeding \n(40.61%). Comparison shows the proportion of vertebrates in the diet of Little Owl in Denmark is lower than reported in studies from other regions of north-western Europe.