IVth International Conference on Dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae)

DORMICE AS PREY OF OWLS: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA

Lipej, L.¹ & Kryštufek², B.

¹ Marine Biological Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornace 41, 6330 Piran, Slovenia, e-mail: lipej@posta.nib.si

² Slovenian Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 290, 1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: boris.krystufek@uni-lj.si

We estimated the importance of dormice (Gliridae) in the diets of different owl species in Slovenia. According to published records on the feeding habits of five owls (Tyto alba, Strix aluco, Athene noctua, Asio otus and Bubo bubo), dormice are rarely preyed upon by these predators. However, two species were found to be preyed on by owls in Slovenia: the common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius and the fat dormouse Glis glis. The common dormouse was regularly taken by the Barn owl (Tyto alba), Long-eared owl (Asio otus) and Tawny owl (Strix aluco), but numerically only exceptionally exceeded 10% of all prey items. The fat dormouse was regularly taken by the Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and occasionally by the Tawny owl. In the Slovenian coastal area, the Fat dormouse was the dominant prey item in the diet of the Eagle owl, comprising up to 37.7% of its prey.

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