Food of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

The composition of the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) diet analysed from pellets collected in several regions of the Eastern Mediterranean is presented. In total, 27 samples from 21 sites in S Italy, S Greece (incl. Crete), S Turkey, NW Syria, SW Lebanon, N Israel, and N Egypt were composed of 8842 prey individuals. Mammals represented the dominant part of the prey (90% of the identified prey individuals, comprising 44 species). Birds were less abundant (7%), however, their diversity was enormous (64 species). Amphibians and reptiles were rarely represented in the diet (0.9%), while invertebrates we found more often (2.2%). The relative abundance of particular prey items in the Barn Owl diet was analysed in four geographical regions: (a) SE Europe (Calabria, Peloponnese, Crete), (b) Levantine parts of Turkey and Syria, (c) Lebanon and N Israel, and (d) N Egypt. In complex evaluation of the sample set, endemic forms composed a special group of prey items: Microtus savii, Sorex samniticus , and Talpa romana in Calabria; Microtus thomasi in Peloponnese; Acomys minous in Crete; and Gerbillus amoenus in Egypt. Another group of prey is represented by typical Levantine species: Microtus guentheri, Meriones tristrami, Apodemus mystacinus , and Rana ridibunda. Apodemus flavicollis and Crocidura leucodon were more abundant in Calabria while less abundant in the Levant. Synanthropic mammals ( Mus spp., Rattus rattus, Suncus etruscus, Crocidura suaveolens ) and birds ( Passer domesticus ) represented a significant part of the diet in the majority of the studied area.