Diet of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) (Strigiformes: Tytonidae) in the Saharan Touggourt Area (Algeria)

Moussa Hadjoudj; Mohammed Lamine Benhaddya; Karim Souttou; Salaheddine Doumandji

doi:10.30550/j.azl/2020.64.1/3

Authors

Moussa Hadjoudj Scientific and Technical Research Centre for Arid Areas (C.R.S.T.R.A.), R N 3 Ain Sahara Nezla – BP 360 Touggourt, RP 30200, Ouargla, Algeria
Mohammed Lamine Benhaddya Scientific and Technical Research Centre for Arid Areas (C.R.S.T.R.A.), R N 3 Ain Sahara Nezla – BP 360 Touggourt, RP 30200, Ouargla, Algeria.
Karim Souttou University of Djelfa, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Department of Agronomy, Djelfa, Algeria.
Salaheddine Doumandji Department of Zoology, National Agronomic Superior School, El Harrach, Algiers, Algeria.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30550/j.azl/2020.64.1/3

Keywords:

Birds, Insects, Rodents, predator-prey interactions, diet composition

Abstract

The Barn Owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769), is a nocturnal raptor species. Their diet includes small vertebrates, mainly rodents, and birds. To study their feeding in the desert area of Touggourt, we collected 153 pellets at the Ranou palm grove. We found 468 specimens belonging to 62 species. In terms of abundance, the item more consumed was Rodents (35.9%) followed by Insects (35.2%) and Birds (10.7%). In terms of absolute abundance, the prey more consumed was Brachytrypes megacephalus (21.4 %), followed by an undetermined Lacertidae species (9.2%) and Gerbillus nanus (8.8%). In terms of biomass, rodents contributed more to the diet of Tyto alba (44.66%) than birds (34.3%) and reptiles (12.06%). The highest value of biomass corresponded to Streptopelia sp. (15.7%), followed by Rattus rattus (14.1%) and an undetermined Lacertidae species (11.8%). To our knowledge, this is the first assess- ment of the diet composition of Tyto alba in the Saharan Touggourt area.