Abstract

We quantified the diet of the Rufous-legged Owl (Strix rufipes) by analyzing 40 pellets collected during the austral autumn 2001, 2003 and 2004 in an Andean Nothofagus-Araucaria forest, southern Chile. Five small mammal species, two passerine birds, insects of two orders, four scorpions and a snail were identified in the pellets. Although insects were the most numerous prey (72.4% of all prey items), small mammals constituted most of the biomass (89.2%). The arboreal small mammals Dromiciops gliroides and Irenomys tarsalis were the most frequently consumed prey (10.4% and 6.3% of all individuals; 37.7% and 28% of total biomass, respectively). The scansorial Oligoryzomys longicaudatus accounted for almost 3% of all items and 7% of total biomass. Terrestrial small mammals accounted for only 1% of all individual prey and 3.6% of total biomass. Our results were similar to those reported for Rufous-legged Owls inhabiting Valdivian rainforests, which suggest that this owl species is conservative in its food habits throughout the southern temperate forest, hunting mostly arboreal and scansorial small mammals. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.