Peromyscus carcass in the nest of a flammulated owl

Abstract

The flammulated owl (Otus jlammealus) is an insectivorous species (Marshall 1957, Ross 1969) that breeds in dry, montane conifer forests of western North America. In Colorado , this owl fed primarily on small lepidopterans, although its diet included a variety of arthropods (e.g., Orthoptera, Diptera, and Arachnida) as summer progressed (Reynolds and Linkhart 1987). Some authors (Bent 1938, Bailey and Niedrach 1965) have reported that flammulated owls occasionally prey on small mammal s and birds. However, none of these authors provided direct evidence of flammulated owls feeding on vertebrates . Furthermore, captive flammulated owls that were offered live deer mice (Peromyscus spp .) never killed the Peramyscus, although they readily carried and ate Peramyscus body segments (mass < 14 g; K. McKeever pers. comm.).

Citation

Linkhart, Brain D.; Reynolds, Richard T. 1994 Peromyscus carcass in the nest of a flammulated owl. Journal of Raptor Research. 28(1):43- 44.