An Overlooked Cost for the Velvety Plumage of Owls: Entanglement in Adhesive Vegetation

We used data collected during 1995– 2007 at the only Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on Tenerife Island (Canary Islands) to quantify entanglement mortality of owls. At least 66 of 1,206 Long-eared (Asio otus) and 5 of 231 Barn (Tyto alba) owls admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center were entan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2009-06, Vol.121 (2), p.439-441
Main Authors: Rodríguez, Airam, Siverio, Felipe, Barone, Rubén, Rodríguez, Beneharo, Negro, Juan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesives
Animal behavior
Barns
Birds of prey
Canaries
Environmental aspects
Evaluation
Feathers
Mortality
Natural history
Owls
Physiological aspects
Plants
Plumage
Properties
Short Communications
Spain
Vegetation
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Summary:We used data collected during 1995– 2007 at the only Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on Tenerife Island (Canary Islands) to quantify entanglement mortality of owls. At least 66 of 1,206 Long-eared (Asio otus) and 5 of 231 Barn (Tyto alba) owls admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center were entangled in burr bristlegrass (Setaria adhaerens). Twelve (18.2%) of the 66 Long-eared Owls died as a result of entanglement while one of five Barn Owls died. A higher incidence of entanglement occurred during summer, coinciding with seed-head ripening and dispersing recently-fledged owls. Velvety plumage may be an important cost for owls, and responsible for owls acting as seed dispersers.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/08-086.1