Food habits of the barn owl,Tyto alba, in a Mediterranean rural area: Comparison with the diet of two sympatric carnivores

Abstract

Abstract The feeding ecology of the barn owl, Tyto alba, was studied in a Mediterranean hilly area of central Italy. Two hundred and fourteen pellets, from five different sites, were collected, dried, and dissected. Data were analysed on seasonal and annual base. Barn owl predation on small mammals was compared with the food habits of two sympatric carnivores, the red fox and the stone marten. Barn owls fed mainly on mammals whereas birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects were occasionally taken. Apodemus mice were the most frequent (34.16%) prey among mammals. Shrews were eaten only by the barn owl (30.23%), but did not occur in the carnivore diets. In conclusion the results confirmed the barn owl as an ecological specialist of small mammals, on which it seems to prey unselectively, whereas the red fox and the stone marten do not appear to prey on shrews.