Diet of the Desert Eagle Owl in 
Harrat al Harrah reserve, northern 
Saudi Arabia 
Mike Evans and Paul Bates 
ME collected four owl pellets in the Harrat al Harrah reserve, northern 
Saudi Arabia, at 30° 40'N 39° 15'E on 16 November 1990. They were 
identified as belonging to an Eagle Owl Bubo (bubo) ascalaphiis by their 
huge size (7x3x3 cm) and their location: a slightly overhanging natural 
hollow on a shallowly sloping, bare, open hillside, with no nearby cliffs 
or holes characteristic of the roosts of smaller desert owl species. PB 
identified mammalian remains in the pellets as belonging to two specimens 
of Jaculus jaculus (museum registration nos HZM. 106.25089 and 
HZM. 107.25091), one oiMeriones species, either young/small M libyscus, 
or M crassus. Surprisingly, there were no Gerbillus remains, given the 
presumed abundance of this genus in the area (see maps in Harrison and 
Bates 1991, The mammals of Arabia). 
The only other recognisable remains were of arachnids, comprising one 
young specimen of the scorpion Apistobuthus pterygocercus and at least 
two specimens of unidentified solifugids (M Goyffon in litt). The above 
rodent species, and scorpions, are known to be eaten by Eagle Owls, but 
invertebrate prey is generally infrequent in the species' diet. Solifugids 
do not appear to have been previously recorded (Cramp 1985, Birds of the 
Western Palearctic); it is not known how the birds deal with the scorpion's 
potent sting. 
Thanks are due to the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation 
and Development and the Nature Conservation Bureau Ltd, for the 
opportunity to work in Harrat al Harrah, as well as to M Goyffon of the 
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, for identifying the 
arthropod remains. 
Mike Evans, Montrose, Llanddeiniol, Llanrhystud, Dyfed SY23 5 AN, UK 
DrPaul Bates, Harrison Zoological Museum, Bowenvood House, St Botolph's 
Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TNI 3 3AQ, UK 
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