Diet of an Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica on the Patho Plains, Northern Victoria

Abstract

A small sample of Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica pellets, from native grasslands on the Patho Plains in northern Victoria in February 2007, contained the remains of 48 prey individuals: 38 Australian Plague Locusts Chortoicetes terminifera, nine House Mice Mus domesticus and one Fat-tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis crassicaudata. Such a high proportion of locusts in the Eastern Barn Owl’s diet is noteworthy, and is discussed in the context of recent locust-spraying operations in the region.