"echinosum" wrote in message
...

BAC;759021 Wrote:
"The Eagle Owl is not a 'rabbit specialist', although, obviously, it
will take them if available. Eagle Owls on the continent have even been
known to take buzzards, which prey extensively on rabbits.

I was going on the fact that an analysis of the droppings of the
Yorkshire eagle owls showed them to be eating 99% rabbit.

It is true some studies suggest Eagle Owls prefer rabbits to any other prey,
e.g. Hume 1991. However, other studies suggest they feed extensively on
birds, e.g. Bochenski et al 1993, with Everett 1977 finding that 83% by
weight of the prey of the Eagle Owls studied was avian. I suppose it depends
on what is available. Eagle Owls are opportunistic predators which can and
will take mammals up to the size of a fox, and birds, especially birds of
prey, up to the size of buzzards. They are particularly good at preying on
other raptors, including other owls, goshawks, sparrowhawks, harriers and
peregrines, and will take them routinely.

References :-

Bochenski, Z., Tomek, T., Boev, Z. & Mitev, I. 1993. Patterns of bird bone
fragmentary in pellets of the Tawny owl (Strix aluco) and the Eagle owl
(Bubo bubo) and their taphonomic implications. Acta zool. cracov. 36,
313-328.

Erritzoe, J. & Fuller, R. 1998. Sex differences in winter distribution of
Long-eared owls (Asio otus) in Denmark and neighbouring countries.
Vogelwarte 40, 80-87.

Everett, M. 1977. A Natural History of Owls. Hamlyn, London.

Giles, J. 2006. Bird lovers keep sharp eye on owls. Nature 439, 127.

Harrison, C. J. O. 1979. Birds of the Cromer Forest Bed series of the East
Anglian Pleistocene. Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists'
Society 24, 277-286.

Harrison, C. J. O. 1987. Pleistocene and prehistoric birds of south-west
Britain. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelaeology Society 18,
81-104.

Hume, R. 1997. Owls of the World. Parkgate Books, London.
Stuart, A. J. 1974. Pleistocene history of the British vertebrate fauna.
Biological Reviews 49, 225-266.


I suppose
actually given that they are reasonably common in places like Norway,
they must be able to eat things other than rabbit. Once they have eaten
Yorkshire out of rabbits (some hope), then I suppose they would move on
to something else. Yorkshire terriers would be good.

Yorkshire terriers would indeed be good prey for a hungry Eagle Owl.


Buzzards and red kites are extending their range into our area, though
so far I've only seen the latter in the immediate vicinity. Perhaps I
don't need to hope for lynxes and eagle owls to deal with our local
rabbit plague after all, though they'd be more fun.



Personally, I'd not mind having lynx and eagle owls about, but you have to
bear in mind that they'd not confine themselves to eating things some people
might wish them to eat and might happily tuck in to critturs other people
are trying to conserve, too.