Food habits and prey spectrum of Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, southern India

We studied the food habits and prey spectrum of the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, southern India, between 2007 and 2009 by analyzing their regurgitated pellets. A total of 4181 pellets were analyzed and 40278 individual prey remains of 16 prey species recorded. The number of prey items per pellet varied from 1 to 31 with an overall mean prey of 9.6 ± 3.03. Our analysis revealed that invertebrates were the predominant prey (insecta 83.0%; arachnida 1.1%; myriapoda 0.2%) followed by vertebrates (reptiles 3.3%; mammals 2.9%). Mammalian prey species in the diet included Mus spp., Rattus rattus, Suncus murinus, Tatera indica, Bandicota bengalensis and micro chiropteran bats.