Scavenging by a Barred Owl in Northern Georgia

Abstract

Scavenging by owls is rarely documented, and fidelity to a scavenged carcass is even less common. Herein we describe multiple visits by presumably the same Strix varia (Barred Owl) to a carcass over 4 consecutive nights during the breeding season. Our observations demonstrate higher site-fidelity than is typically reported for owls and suggest that opportunistic scavenging may occasionally represent a low-cost means of meeting energetic demands with potentially important consequences for individual survival during nesting.