Diet Composition of the Barn Owl Tyto alba (Aves: Tytonidae) and the Spotted Owlet Athene brama (Aves: Strigidae) Coexisting in an Urban Environment

The comparative diet of the Barn Owl Tyto alba and the Spotted Owlet Athene brama were studied in an urban habitat of Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, Southern India, during January–December 2008. Regurgitated pellets of these two owl species were analysed to understand their dietary composition. The diet of the Barn Owl mainly comprised small mammals such as Suncus murinus (51.9%) and Rattus rattus (28.6%), while the diet of the Spotted Owlet comprised mostly arthropods (84.9%); Coleoptera (40.9%) and Orthoptera (32.4%). Food niche overlap between the Barn Owl and the Spotted Owlet in overall diet was 6.5%, which indicated very low degree of overlap.