A case of 'pseudopredation' 
on landsnails by the 
Long-eared Owl Asio otus 
Henk K Mienis 
During a comparative study of the food of three resident owl species in 
Kibbutz Netzer Sereni, Israel, an interesting pellet of the Long-eared Owl 
Asio otus was collected on 8 June 1991. It was conspicuous not only 
through its size, some 82mm in length, but also through its contents. 
An almost complete skeleton of a charadriid species and a leathery 
pouch, which turned out to be the dried-up stomach of the predated bird, 
was extracted from the pellet. On soaking the stomach in tap-water, I 
found inside eight landsnails, the remains of a dungbeetle (Scarabaeidae) 
and parts of a small centipede Strongylosoma syriacum, all common 
ground dwelling invertebrates in the fields of the kibbutz. The eight 
landsnails belonged to a single species Euchondrus aff . ovularis (see note 
below). The remains of the bird turned out to belong to a Spur-winged 
Plover Hoplopterus spinosus, a common species in the neighbourhood of 
the nesting-site of the owl. It is known to feed mainly on small invertebrates 
(Paz 1987), including landsnails (Mienis 1985 & 1989). However, so far 
Euchondrus aff. ovularis has not been recorded as a prey of the Spur- 
winged Plover. 
The pellet was therefore composed of a mixture of the remains of the 
owl's prey (the plover) and the food consumed by the plover (the snails, 
the dung beetle and the centipede). Recently a similar case was described 
in which a pellet of a Barn Owl Tyto alba erlangeri contained a small 
landsnail Monacha haifaensis. It was not the Barn Owl, however, that had 
preyed on the snail, but a White-toothed Shrew Crocidura suavolens, 
whose remains were present in the same pellet (e.g. Mienis 1992). Clearly 
one needs to differentiate between true predation and 'pseudopredation' . 
Note: The nomenclature of the landsnail is not yet settled. Material identified 
from Israel in the past as Euchondrus ovularis does not seem to be conspecific with 
true E. ovularis from Turkey. 
References 
MIENIS, H. K. (1985) Predation on landsnails by Spur-winged Plovers in Israel. 
Levantina 56; 629-630. 
MIENIS, H. K. (1989) Additional cases of predation on landsnails by Spur- 
winged Plovers Hoplopterus spinosus, in Israel. De Kreukel 25:98. 
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