Food Habits of the Northern Saw-whet Owl in Central Iowa: Effects of Roost Location

Authors

Stephen J. Dinsmore, Iowa State UniversityFollow
William R. Clark, Iowa State UniverstiyFollow

Document Type

Research

Keywords

food habits, Iowa, northern saw-whet owl

Abstract

During the period 1979-89, 900 northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) pellets with identifable remains of prey were collected at 18 central Iowa locations. Peromyscus were the most frequent prey consumed, comprising 81.2% of all prey items. Other prey species were voles (Microtus), western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), shrews (Blarina brevicauda, Sorex cinereus, and Cryptotis parva), and a single unidentified bird. Peromyscus comprised the largest proportion of pellets from different successional stages. There were significant differences for four prey groups (Peromyscus, Microtus, Reithrodontomys, and shrews) among years. Peromyscus and R. megalotis showed significant differences among locations. Microtus and shrews were variable in the diet and showed no consistent patterns.

Publication Date

December 1991

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

98

Issue

4

First Page

167

Last Page

169

Copyright

© Copyright 1991 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Dinsmore, Stephen J. and Clark, William R. (1991) "Food Habits of the Northern Saw-whet Owl in Central Iowa: Effects of Roost Location," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 98(4), 167-169.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol98/iss4/6