Roost Site Selection of Great Horned Owls in Relation to Black Fly Activity: An Anti-Parasite Behavior?

Abstract

Abstract We document a shift in roosting behavior of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) from winter and late spring to summer. During summer, Great Horned Owls roosted near the ground or exposed on open ground, whereas they chose concealed perches at mid-canopy level for the rest of the year as typical for forest owls. This shift of roosting behavior coincided with the emergence of ornithophilic black flies, which transmit avian malaria (Leucocytozoon spp.). The shift in roosting behavior was consistent with measurements of parasite exposure at different habitat positions. Black fly activity was highest at mid-canopy level, and almost no black flies were active on open ground. Ground-roosting was not caused by poorly developed flying capability of juveniles, because solitarily-roosting adult owls showed the same behavioral shift in a second year of study. Black flies and avian malaria are widely distributed, and the effect of the vertical distribution of these parasites in forests on roosting, nesting, and foraging of sylvatic birds deserves further study.