Selected Aspects of Burrowing Owl Ecology and Behavior

Abstract

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Small Mammal Prey Selection by Two Owl Species in Southeastern Brazil

“…In contrast, ground-foraging and the use of perches are strategies employed by Burrowing Owls, indicating that this owl is predominantly a sit-and-wait predator (Thomsen 1971, Marti 1974, Jaksic and Carothers 1985. Further, Burrowing Owls are diurnal/crepuscular, (Thomsen 1971, Martin 1973, whereas Barn Owls are primarily nocturnal (Bunn et al 1982). Although both owls use vision to hunt, Barn Owls are capable of seeing at lower light intensity than Burrowing Owls (Marti 1974).…”

North American owls: biology and natural history

“…In a New Mexico study the observed population densities were evidently considerably lower (15 pairs located along 3.7 linear kilometers of hab-itat) and territory sizes correspondingly higher, in spite of available and apparently suitable burrow sites in the area; there the average distance between occupied nests was 166 meters (Martin, 1973a). Grant (1965) estimated that 5-9 pairs nested in an area of 32 hectares in North Dakota, suggesting a nesting density of 3.5-6 hectares per pair, and Wedgewood (1976) also found a colony of 6-8 active burrows in a Saskatchewan pasture of about 100 hectares, or about 13-16 hectares per pair.…”

“…Low vegetation around the nesting site may also increase hunting efficiency. Burrows Martin, 1973a), (C-D) variations in exposure of white throat and white facial feathers (after Thomsen, 1971), (E) precopulatory posture (female on right, after Coulombe, 1971), and (F) nest-defense posture (after Bent, 1938). located in relatively sandy sites may also be favored there, perhaps because they are more \ \ easily modified by enlarging passageways and \.,1 may also drain more rapidly following rainfall. However, Rich (1986) found in Oregon that the birds preferred to nest in small rock outcrops, perhaps for reasons of increased safety against badgers (Taxadea taxus) and canid predators.…”

“…Burrows used by the owls probably vary considerably as to their origins, but those studied by Martin (1973a) were all made by rock squirrels (eitel/us variegatus), and those with entrances at the bottom of arroyo gullies or other vertical cuts were favored over those at the lip or on the vertical face of a cut. Most of the utilized burrows slanted gradually down from the entrance, and invariably had a sharp right-or left-hand turn present.…”

VARIACIÓN ESTACIONAL DE LA DIETA DEL MOCHUELO DE HOYO (Athene cunicularia) EN UN HÁBITAT XEROFÍTICO DEL NORESTE DE VENEZUELA

“…Su ecología trófica ha sido estudiada tanto en el hemisferio norte (e.g., Thomsen, 1971;Martin, 1971Martin, , 1973Maser et al, 1970Maser et al, , 1971Hennemann & Willard, 1980;Tyler, 1983;MacCracken et al, 1985;Thompson & Anderson, 1988;Green et al, 1993;Plumpton & Lutz, 1993a;John & Romanow, 1993, 1998Haug et al, 1993;Morgan et al, 1994;Sissons et al, 2001;Valdéz-Gómez & Rocha, 2005;Littles et al, 2007;Wiley, 2008;Gervais et al, 2000;York et al, 2002;Klute et al, 2003;Moulton et al, 2005;Valdéz-Gómez & Enríquez-Rocha, 2005;Poulin et al, 2011), como en el hemisferio sur (e.g., Yañez & Jaksic, 1979;Pulido & Aguilar, 1979;Jaksic & Schlatter et al, 1980;Marti, 1981;Núñez & Yánez, 1982;Bellocq, 1987;Meserve et al, 1987;Massoia et al, 1988;Martins & Eglar, 1990;Silva-Porto & Cerqueira, 1990;Soares et al, 1992;Bellocq & Kravetz, 1994;Torres-Contreras et al, 1994;Vieira & Teixeira, 1996;De Santis et al, 1997;…”