Food Preference of the Short-Eared Owl (Asio flammeus) and Barn Owl (Tyto alba) at Usta Muhammad, Baluchistan, Pakistan

Authors: MUHAMMAD MUSHTAQ-UL-HASSAN, RAFIA REHANA GHAZI, NOOR UN NISA

Abstract: The dominant food-items eaten by the short-eared owl were rats and mice (91.9%). Shrews (2.0%), bats (1.3%), and birds (5.0%) jointly constituted only 8.2% of the owl's diet. Among rats and mice, the most intensively consumed rodent pest by the owl was Millardia meltada (43.9%), followed by Mus musculus (29.8%), Tatera indica (16.3%), and Bandicota bengalensis (1.8%). In the case of the barn owl, rats and mice represented 9.7% of their diet, followed by shrews (4.7%), birds (3.3%), and bats (0.4%). Among the rats and mice in their diet were M. meltada (46.3%), T. indica (3.5%), Nesokia indica (5.1%), B. bengalensis (2.2%), Rattus rattus (1.1%), and M. musculus (33.5%). Sub-adults of M. meltada were the most intensively eaten food item by the short-eared owl (50.8%) and barn owl (39.1%), whereas adults of M. musculus were the dominant prey age-category consumed by the short-eared owl (52.2%) and barn owl (66.0%)

Keywords: Diet, soft-furred field rat, house mouse, barn owl, short-eared owl

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