Abstract

QUIROGA-CARMONA, Marcial  and  ISASI-CATALA, Emiliana. Predation of a Northern Grass Mouse (Necromys urichi) by a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) in the Cordillera de la Costa of Venezuela. Huitzil [online]. 2013, vol.14, n.2, pp.101-104. ISSN 1870-7459.

We report a predation event of a Northern Grass Mouse (Necromys urichi) by a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) in the Cordillera de la Costa, northern Venezuela. The event consisted in the observation of an adult Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl holding with both legs an individual of N. urichi, which had already been decapitated and partially eaten. Glaucidium brasilianum eats insects and small vertebrates, and it is also able to capture and consume preys such as birds and mammals that exceed its size. In view of the behaviour of G. brasilianum and the high abundance that N. urichi exhibited in the montane ecosystems of the Cordillera de la Costa, it is likely that this rodent represents an important item in the diet of this owl, which neotropical populations are poorly known.

Keywords : Cricetidae; diet; Sigmodontinae; Strigidae; Surniinae.

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