Tawny Owls Strix aluco from a southern European population differ in size and degree of reverse sexual dimorphism from northern European counterparts

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tawny Owls in southern Europe were trapped and measured. Compared to males, the females were larger, heavier, and more greyish in colour, but there was a large biometric overlap. The variable with the highest Storer’s dimorphism index (SDI) was weight, though our population had one of the smallest dimorphisms observed in Europe for weight. It has been proposed that differences in diet could lead to differing behaviour and, in consequence, the observed dimorphism degree (SDI) by natural selection.