1922.] 



Feeding Habits of the Little Owl. 



1188 



THE FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS 

 OF THE LITTLE OWL. 



EL 



Walter E. Collinge, D.Sc, F.L.S., M.B.O.U., 

 Keeper of the Yorkshire Museum, York. 



Experience has shown that in order to arrive at a thorough 

 understanding of the food of any species of wild bird it is 

 necessary to examine the stomach, etc., contents of a large 

 number of individuals, obtained from many localities, and 

 throughout the various months of the year. Prolonged and 

 numerous investigations have convinced the writer that the 

 most reliable method of estimating the different food items is 

 that known as the volumetric system or percentage by volume. 



Moreover, such mehods of investigation must be supple- 

 mented by fieid observations, the examination of pellets (w T here 

 present), the faeces (w T hen necessary), and the food fed to the 

 nestlings. 



In the present investigation 212 stomachs of adult birds 

 have been examined from 19 different counties and 23 separate 

 localities. Two of the stomachs were empty and 16 were 

 nearly empty or only partially filled. These are therefore not 

 included, the net number being 194. Of nestlings 18 specimens 

 have been examined and upwards of 260 pellets, while numerous 

 observations have been made on. the "hoards" and food 

 brought to the nest. 



The counties involved were : — 



Bedford. Kent. Suffolk. 



Bucks. Leicester. Surrey. 



Devon. Lincoln. Sussex. 



Dorset. Norfolk. Wilts. 



Essex. Northampton. Yorks. 



Hereford. Notts. 



Herts. Somerset. 

 The number of adult Little Owls examined in this investiga- 

 tion, and the months in which collected, were as follows : — 9 



Jan. Feb. Mch. Apl. May* June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total 

 18 20 21 26 27 22 14 7 10 U 15 194 



Food of the Adult.— Animal Food.—Oi the total bulk of food 

 consumed annually by the Little Owls examined 93.49 per 

 cent, consisted of animal matter. The greatest proportion was 

 consumed in November (98.22 per cent.) and the smallest pro- 



