ABSTRACT. The analysis of pellet contents of Barn Owls from southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico, shows that mammals represent the main prey of this bird. We identified a minimum of 184 individuals from 2 orders, 3 families and 8 species of mammals. The greatest number of prey was from hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus), which represented 83.69% of the total individuals and 84.68% of the biomass of the sample. From the other 7 species included in the pellets, 3 were very uncommon species: the cozumelan golden bat (Mimon cozumelae), the false vampire bat (Vampyrum spectrum), and the Peter's climbing rat (Tylomys nudicaudus). Bats represented 2.17% of prey number and 0.799% of the total biomass estimated in the sample. Comparisons of these results with the estimated abundances by standard trapping methods show differences. These results corroborate a general pattern of barn owl opportunistic predation over the locally most abundant species and bats as rare prey. Key words: Diet, Owl pellets, predation, small mammals, Tylomys nudicaudus. RESUMEN. Se analizó el contenido de regurgitaciones de una lechuza de campanario del sureste del estado de Oaxaca México. Se encontró que los mamíferos representan la presa principal de esta ave. Se identificaron restos de 184 individuos pertenecientes a dos órdenes, tres familias y ocho especies. La mayor cantidad de restos correspondieron a la rata de los cañaverales (Sigmodon hispidus), que representó el 83.69% de individuos y 84.68% de la biomasa contenidos en la muestra. De las otras siete especies, tres son raras: los murciélagos Mimon cozumelae y Vampyrum spectrum y la rata arborícola Tylomys nudicaudus. Los murciélagos representaron el 2.17% de las presas y el 0.799% de la biomasa total estimada en la muestra. Los resultados corroboran un patrón general de depredación oportunista sobre las especies localmente más abundantes. Santos
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