This study was conducted on Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Arkansas to investigate the food habits of the common barn owl (Tyto alba). Three hundred thirty-eight pellets were collected from four barn owl nest boxes yielding the remains of 1003 individual prey items. Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were eaten most frequently, comprising 46.8% of the diet by frequency. Results of this study are compared with those from other Arkansas ecoregions to assess regional variation in the diet of this endangered species

Huston, R. M.

Nelson, Thomas A.

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Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 48 Article 161994Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits in West-CentralArkansasR. M. HustonEastern Illinois UniversityThomas A. NelsonEastern Illinois UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Zoology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academyof Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu.Recommended CitationHuston, R. M. and Nelson, Thomas A. (1994) "Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits in West-Central Arkansas," Journal of the ArkansasAcademy of Science: Vol. 48 , Article 16.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/1673Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits inWest-Central ArkansasR.M. Huston and T.A.Nelson118 Seebee LaneBuckville,AR71956Department of Zoology600 Lincoln AvenueEastern Illinois UniversityCharleston, IL61920-3099AbstractThis study was conducted on Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Arkansas to investigate the foodhabits of the common barn owl (Tyto alba). Three hundred thirty-eight pellets were collected from four barn owl nestboxes yielding the remains of1003 individual prey items. Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were eaten most frequent-ly, comprising 46.8% of the diet by frequency. Results of this study are compared with those from other Arkansas ecore-gions to assess regional variation in the diet of this endangered species.IntroductionThe barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of special concernin Arkansas due to its low numbers. Itis usually associat-ed with open fields and agricultural land. While thisspecies has been studied extensively throughout most ofits range (Bent, 1938; Wallace, 1948; Boyd and Shriner,1954; Banks, 1965; Bunn et al., 1982), few studies havebeen conducted in Arkansas. We are aware of only twofood habits studies one conducted innortheast Arkansas(Paige et al., 1979) that examined the contents of 45 pel-lets, and another conducted in southwest Arkansas(Steward et al., 1988). Our study was conducted on HollaBend National Wildlife Refuge (Pope County), located inthe Arkansas River Valley in west-central Arkansas.Materials and MethodsOver two years (1990 and 1991), 338 pellets from fournest boxes were collected and analyzed. The nest boxeswere located inbarns surrounded by farmland, primarilysoybean and sorghum fields. Pellets were collected fromnest boxes every two weeks, placed in bags, and labeledwith the date and location. To analyze food contents,skeletal, hair, and feather remains were separated andidentified. Remains were observed under a dissectingmicroscope and compared to standard keys (Glass, 1951;Sealander, 1979; Schwartz and Schwartz, 1981) and speci-mens in the Arkansas Tech University VertebrateCollection. The importance of each species or group inthe diet of barn owls was estimated from the percent fre-quency of occurrence inpellets.Results and DiscussionThe evaluation of food habits based on pellet analysiscan be biased because foods differ in digestibility(Errington, 1932). The primary foods of barn owls arerodents whose skulls and teeth are difficult to digest(Errington, 1932). Because our sample size was large, wewere confident that these data allow a general assessmentof the raptor's diet inthis region of the state.Small mammals comprised the vast majority of thespecies consumed by barn owls on Holla Bend. Hispidcotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were the most importantfood item and were found in 46.8% of the sample (Table1). The cotton rat was common on the study area, whichis comprised of crop fields, fallow land, and old fields.The cotton rat prefers this type of habitat (Schwartz andSchwartz, 1981; Sealander and Heidt, 1990). The south-ern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi) has been document-ed as the dominant prey of barn owls in northeastArkansas (Paige et al., 1979). Although there is suitablehabitat, southern bog lemmings are not found in thestudy area (Sealander and Heidt, 1990). The woodlandvole (Mircotus pinetorum) was the second most importantfood item inour study, comprising 14.2% of the prey con-sumed. Steward et al. (1988) reports the woodland voleand the cotton rat as the most numerous prey items insouthwest Arkansas. The marsh rice rat (Oryzmys palustris)represented 13% of the food contents of the pellets. Thecombined percentage for all shrew species was 7.1%. Thesoutheastern shrews (Sorex longirostris) are a county recordand represent only the ninth Arkansas county from whichthe shrew has been taken (Sealander and Heidt, 1990).The remaining prey items were other rodent species andProceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.48, 199473Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 16Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 199474*¦*••* ** \ JF*'** **%%*%»J M. WW\* AAUUIiaIU"¦ *¦»»•> * ••* * «%•• **»11iTbirds.Table 1. Food contents of barn owlpellets on Holla BendNational Wildlife Refug (Fall 1990 and 1991).Food Item No. ofspecimens %FrequencyHispid Cotton Rat(Sigmodon hispidus) 470 46.8Woodland Vole(Microtus pinetorum) 142 14.2Marsh Rice Rat(Oryzomys palustris) 130 13.0Unidentified birdspecies(passerines) 88 8.8House Mouse(Mus musculus) 46 4.6Unidentified shrews(Soricidae) 39 3.9Least Shrew(Cryptotis pan/a) 21 2.1Fulvous Harvest Mouse[Reithrodontomys fulvescens) 20 2.0Deer Mouse(Peromyscus maniculatus) 13 1.3Unidentified species 9 0.9Short-tailed Shrew(Blarina carolinenis) 8 0.8Unidentified Cricetidae 7 0.7Southeastern Shrew(Sorex longirostris) 4 0.4Eastern Cottontail(Sylvilagus jloridanus) 4 0.4Unidentified rodents(Rodentia) 2 0.2TOTAL 10003 100.1Unidentified bird species (passerines) occured in 8.8%of our sample (Table 1). Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaiusphoeniceus) were identified in two of the pellets. Red-winged blackbirds were also found in barn owl pelletsfrom Ohio (Carpenter and Fall, 1967).Our results show that rodent species are the primaryprey consumed by barn owls. This is also supported byPaige et al. (1979) and Steward et al. (1988). As preyitems, bird species were slightly more prevalent in oursample (8.8%) than those of Paige et al. (1979) (6.5%),and Steward et al. (1988), (2.2%). This could reflect differ-ences in the availability of prey in differing habitats.Insectivore percentages in Steward et al. (1988), Paige etal. (1979), and our study were 3.4%, 5.4%, and 7.2%,respectively. Although prey availability probably variesamong ecoregions in Arkansas, the relative importance ofrodents, insectivores, and birds in the diets ofbarn owlsappears to be consistent. These studies suggest that barnowls could be beneficial predators in agricultural commu-nities by cullingnuisance rodent species.AcknowledgementsWe appreciate the assistance and information provid-ed by Martin Perry and his staff at Holla Bend NationalWildlife Refuge. We also thank Karen Yaich of theArkansas Game and Fish Commission forproviding infor-mation concerning Barn Owl nest boxes and Charles B.Burrell for field assistance. Support for the study was pro-vided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and ArkansasTech University.Literature CitedBanks, R.C. 1965. Some information frombarn owl pel-lets. Auk 82:506.Bent, A.C. 1938. Lifehistories of north american birds ofprey: part two. Dover Publications Inc., New York, 412pp.Boyd, E.M. and J. Shriner. 1954. Nesting and food of theBarn Owl (Tyto alba) inHampshire Co. Mass. Auk71:199-201.Bunn, D.S., A.B. Warburton and R.D.S. Wilson. 1982.The Barn Owl. Buteo Books, Vermillion,SouthDakota.Carpeter, M.L.and M.W. Fall. 1967. The Barn Owl as ared-winged blackbird predator innortheastern Ohio.OhioJ. Sci. 67(5):317.Errington, P.L. 1932. Techniques of raptor food habitsstudy. Condor 34:75-86.Glass, B.P. 1951. A key to the skulls ofNorth Americanmammals. Burgess Publishing Co., Minneapolis,Minnesota, 71 pp.Paige, K.N., C.T. McAllister and C.R. Tumlison. 1979.Unusual results from pellet analysis of the AmericanBarn Owl Tyto alba pratincola (Bonaparte). Proc.Arkansas Acad. Sci. 33:88-89.Schwartz, C.W. and E.R. Schwartz. 1981. The wildmam-mals ofMissouri. University ofMissouri Press andMissouri Dept. ofConservation, Columbia, 356 pp.Sealander, J.A. 1979. Aguide to Arkansas mammals.River Road Press, Conway, Arkansas, 313 pp.Sealander, J.A. and G.A.Heidt. 1990. Arkansas mammalstheir natural history, classification, and distribution.The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville,Arkansas, 308 pp.Steward, T.W.,J.D. Whilhide,V.R. McDaniel,and D.R.England. 1988. Mammalian species recovered from astudy ofBarn Owl, Tyto alba, pellets from southwest-ern Arkansas. Proc. Arkansas Acad. Sci. 44:115-116.Wallace, G.J. 1948. The Barn Owlin Michigan. Mich.State Coll. Agr.Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull.208:1-61.Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.48, 199474Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 16http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/16

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits in West-Central Arkansas

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