Feeding Ecology of the Spotted Owl in California
Journal
Raptor Research
Volume
14
Issue
3 (Fall)
Year
1980
Pages
73-78
Section
Scientific Papers
Online Text
Abstract
The Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) from the Coast Range of northern California and the Peninsular Range of southern California preys heavily on forest-dwelling mammals, especially the dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes). Meadows are not regularly hunted by these owls, despite large numbers of prey there. Indexes of prey biomass diversity indicate a relatively narrow prey base for the Spotted Owl in California. The Screech Owl (Otus asio) is an uncommon but regular prey item of the Spotted Owl; mobbing by Screech Owls in response to imitated Spotted Owl calls is described.
File attachments
p00073-p00078.pdf
(494.69 KB)
