Comparison of the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) diet at intra- and inter-specific level in the Atacama desert, Chile ComparaciÓn de la dieta del pequÉn (Athene cunicularia) a nivel intra e interespecÍfico en el desierto de Atacama, Chile

Abstract

The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a strigiform bird with a large trophic niche, and a diet based on insects, although it also consumes rodents, birds and reptiles. In this work we document a low diversity of prey of this species in the Atacama Desert, Chile. In other similar places in northern Chile greater diversity of prey species has been documented. This species coexists with Geranoaetus polyosoma and Tyto furcata, two species that have been previously evaluated for their diet. A total of 134 pellets were collected and the invertebrates were again the most consumed; Coleoptera were the only representatives with 85.9% of the prey, while the only species of rodent consumed was Eligmodontia dunaris, with 9.33%. However, Coleoptera represented only 34.9% of the consumed biomass, while E. dunaris was 56.4%. In the Burrowing Owl the dominance of a small number of prey species coincides with the low species richness in their diet, in relation to the other raptors. The niche breadt