Little owls (Athene noctua) shift their diet towards nocturnal beetles in an arid North African area

Abstract

Urban life is associated with dietary shifts in opportunistic predators, such as raptors. This is presumably true in food-poor environments, such as drylands. We investigated this issue in little owls (Athene noctua) inhabiting an arid southern Tunisian area. Using pellet data, we found that coleopterans accounted for 69% of ingested food items. Controlling for prey availability, this coleopteran-based diet was more notable in the urban environment compared to rural areas. We suggest that habitat conditions in the urban areas have increased the catchability of nocturnal coleopterans which were then more exposed to predation by little owls than in rural areas.