The diet composition of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco in the Kozłówka Forest (eastern Poland)

Jarosław Wiącek; Marcin Polak; Mariusz Niedźwiedź

doi:10.2478/v10067-010-0016-7

The diet composition of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco in the Kozłówka Forest (eastern Poland)

Jarosław Wiącek¹, Marcin Polak¹ and Mariusz Niedźwiedź²

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¹ Department of Nature Conservation, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033, Lublin, Poland

² Department of Comparative Anatomy and Anthropology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033, Lublin, Poland

Volume/Issue:: Volume 64: Issue 2

Published:: 16 Jul 2010

Page Count:: 75–81

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10067-010-0016-7

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The diet composition of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco in the Kozłówka Forest (eastern Poland)

The diet composition of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco breeding in the Kozłówka Forest in eastern Poland was analysed. Materials were collected from seven nest-boxes in 2007. The material contained the food remains of 24 species: twelve rodent, two insectivore, one bat, three bird, two fish, as well as three insects and frogs. Among 286 identified prey items, small mammals were represented as dominant group in a food (78.7%). Frogs to made 13.6% all of prey, birds (2.8%), fishes (1.7%), insects (3.2%). The main components of food were forest species of rodents (Apodemus and Clethrionomys). Frogs and fishes in the food were only presence in the wet territories with fish ponds and meadows in the small river valleys. Food from the Kozłówka forest contained 8.5% fishes by biomass. To our knowledge, it is the highest level of this food component recorded in European literature.

Skład pokarmu puszczyka Strix aluco w Lasach Kozłowieckich we wschodniej Polsce

Analizowano skład pokarmu puszczyków gnieżdżących się w Lasach Kozłowieckich, położonych w okolicach Lublina we wschodniej Polsce. Materiał do analizy zebrano w 2007 roku z siedmiu budek lęgowych. Materiał zawierał szczątki 24 gatunków: 12 gatunków gryzoni, 2 gatunków owadożernych, 1 gat. nietoperza, 3 gat. patków, 2 gat. ryb, 3 gat. owadów oraz szczątki żab. Wśród 286 zidentyfikowanych ofiar dominującą grupą w pokarmie były drobne ssaki (78,7%). Żaby stanowiły 13,6% składu pokarmu, ptaki 2,8%, ryby 1,7%, a owady 3,2%. Głównym składnikiem pokarmu były leśne gatunki gryzoni z rodzaju Apodemus oraz Clethrionomys. Żaby i ryby były obecne w pokarmie jedynie na terytoriach z udziałem stawów rybnych, wilgotnych łąk oraz małych dolin rzecznych. Ryby w pokarmie puszczyków z Lasów Kozłowieckich stanowiły 8,5% upolowanej biomasy. Według naszej wiedzy jest to największy udział tej kategorii zdobyczy w pokarmie puszczyków zanotowany w europejskiej literaturze ornitologicznej.

Keywords: Tawny Owl; Strix aluco; food; pine forest; eastern Poland

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