Diet of the Lesser Antillean barn owl Tyto insularis (Aves: Strigiformes) in Dominica, Lesser Antilles

Abstract

This study presents new information on the diet of Tyto insularis in Dominica, Lesser Antilles. The study of 57 pellets and bulk material collected in 1999 (23) and 2000 (34) contained 517 prey items of relatively high diversity. These included squamates (2 species), rodents (2 species), bats (7 species), birds (17 identified taxa and several unidentified Passeriformes) and insects. Although our inferences stem a few owls, results suggested that the diet of T. insularis in Dominica is similar to the diet of T. glaucops in Hispaniola.