Abstract

Raptor conservation programs should be based on knowledge of the birds' ecology in both natural and urban habitats, justifying the inclusion of ecological studies in suburban zones into regional planning initiatives. The objective of this study was to determine the use of diurnal raptors within the habitats of a suburban area of a city in southern Chile. We characterize the different zones into five types of environment, and assess their raptor diversity for consideration in territorial planning. Acoustic surveys were conducted in auditory stations in addition to observations from fixed transects and trails. From a total of 161.39 h of survey, we obtained 664 sightings corresponding to ten species of diurnal raptors. The richest environment was dense forest (eight species), followed by grassland (six species), native forest regeneration (five species), shrubs (four species) and exotic tree plantations (three species). We discuss the relationship between the richness of diurnal raptors, the types of environment in the study area, and the spatial location of the sites, as well as the implications for territorial planning to support the conservation of birds of prey in the suburban zone studied.