Demographic data on the Little Owl<i>(Athene noctua)</i>in Upper-Kiskunság (Hungary)

Hámori, Dániel; Winkler, Dániel; Vadász, Csaba

doi:10.1515/orhu-2017-0012

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Our results highlighted that not the food source, but the availability of breeding sites will be the limiting factors for the local population in the future (see also Hámori et al 2017). Compared with the data from 2007, many houses and outbuildings used for nesting formerly collapsed and became unsuitable for nesting by 2017.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

The status and population changes of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in the south of Békés county (Hungary)

Bozó

Csathó²

2017

Ornis Hungarica

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Between 1995 and 2017 we carried out surveys on the Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Battonya town and Kevermes village in southern Békés county. In 2007 and 2017 we have surveyed nesting sites in the village and the outer areas of Kevermes. The population of the species was estimated at the beginning of the breeding season and in early summer with field observations. Between 1995 and 2017 we collected road-kill data within the entire administrative area of Battonya. We registered each fiund road-killed Little Owl. We found 64 road-kills in Battonya. The number of casualties of the species has increased unambiguously over the studied 23 years. Most of the road-killed Little Owls (53 individuals, 82.81% of the total) were found in summer (June–August). 51 road-killed individuals (79.69%) were noted in the outer areas of Battonya, and 13 specimens (20.31%) in the town. Our results highlight that vehicle traffic is an important mortality factor for the population. The Little Owl has a large population in this landscape, and the population size has increased over the last decade. In the background of this increase is most likely the rise in the number of abandoned houses because of the unfavourable economic and social situation in the region. The local pairs nested only on attics and roof structures in Kevermes, often in residential buildings. The buildings of modern agriculture do not meet the needs of the species. A large part of the population breeds in the village, because with the disappearance of the farms the breeding pairs of the outer areas of Kevermes have disappeared. However, in Battonya the species regularly breeds in the outer areas of the town. Finally, we also collected some ethnoecological data on how local people relate to the species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

The status and population changes of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in the south of Békés county (Hungary)

Bozó

Csathó²

2017

Ornis Hungarica

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“…-A: feeds primarily on arthropods, for example Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops) (Kadochnikov 1963, Galeotti & Sacchi 2001, Lee & Severinghaus 2004) -B: species feed on arthropods and vertebrates, for example Little Owl (Athene noctua) (Glue & Scott 1980, Laursen 1981, Hounsome et al 2004, Šálek et al 2013, Hámori et al 2017, Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) (Nybo & Sonerud 1990, Sonerud 1986, 1992). -C: feeds exclusively on vertebrates, for example Great Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) (Papageorgiou et al 1993, Penteriani et al 2002, Milchev & Spassov 2017, Barn Owl (Tyto alba) (Milchev 2015, Horváth et al 2018)…”

Section: Groups and Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of skull morphometric characters in Owls (Strigiformes)

et al. 2018

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Owls (Strigiformes) are small to large birds, mostly solitary and nocturnal predators. They can be found all around the Earth except Antarctica and some remote islands. The species differ in size, diet and habitat, which led to different morphological adaptations of the skull. The main differences are in the orbital and the otical region, which are connected to the visual and hearing capabilities. The aim of the recent study is to increase our knowledge of the relationship between skull shape and foraging habits and tried to find those characters that are related to diet. A geometric morphometric approach was used to analyse two-dimensional cranial landmarks. We used principal component (PC) analyses on measurements that may be related to visual and hearing abilities. The PCs are resulted in the robusticity of the skull and the asymmetry of the otical region. There are differences in position and shape of postorbital processes (POP) and tympanic wings (TW). Species with symmetrical skull shape are basically crepuscular or diurnal predators and species with more asymmetrical skulls are mostly nocturnal hunters and have better hearing capabilities.

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Little Owl’s (Athene noctua) vertebrate food composition during breeding season with high frog dominance in grasslands

2019

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The aim of our study was to investigate the feeding of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) during the breeding period in three protected sites (Upper Kiskunság Puszta, Upper Kiskunság Lakes, Peszéradacs Meadows) in an extensively managed lowland plain area (Upper Kiskunság) of the Carpathian Basin. A further objective was to provide a detailed assessment of the vertebrate prey spectrum and dominance structure based on the analyses of pellets. Little Owl pellets were collected in September 2015 and 2016 from 20 artificial nest boxes in which successful breeding occurred in both years. Mean pellet number was calculated per individuals. Distribution of individual number and biomass of vertebrate prey taxa were also examined. The number of collected and dissected owl pellets was 2,094 in 2015 and 2,024 in 2016, respectively. The average rate of pellet regurgitation was 25.57 pellets/ind. in 2015, and 27.74 pellets/ind. in 2016. From the 40 samples (4,118 owl pellets) a total of 2,017 vertebrate preys were determined. Cumulative species richness was 21, including 12 mammalian, 1 amphibian, 4 reptile and 4 bird species. Mammals were dominant in the food (average 50.83%), and the consumption of amphibians was similar (48.06%). The consumption of birds and reptiles was not significant. Amphibians were represented by a single species, the Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) in remarkably high proportions among the prey items, followed by the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) by approx. 37% proportion. The high proportion of the latter two species was also clearly reflected in the biomass amounts. Among the birds, the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) proved to be the most commonly predated species apart from other species closely related to farmland habitats (Motacilla alba, M. flava, Passer montanus).

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Demographic data on the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in Upper-Kiskunság (Hungary)

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

The status and population changes of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in the south of Békés county (Hungary)

The status and population changes of the Little Owl(Athene noctua)in the south of Békés county (Hungary)

Analysis of skull morphometric characters in Owls (Strigiformes)

Little Owl’s (Athene noctua) vertebrate food composition during breeding season with high frog dominance in grasslands

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