On the diet of Little Owl Athene noctua from Al Reem biosphere reserve in Qatar, with the first record of Pygmy Gerbil Gerbillus henleyi for Qatar.

The diet composition of Little Owl Athene noctua was investigated in Al Reem biosphere reserve, northern Qatar. Eighty-seven regurgitated pellets yielded 193 individual prey items representing at least five rodent spp, two lizard spp, unidentified bird(s) spp, at least one scorpion sp, several beetle (Coleoptera) and grasshopper (Orthoptera) spp. Prey items were dominated by beetles (45%) and rodents (37%) which were found in 58.6% and 70% of the pellets, respectively. Reptiles, birds, scorpions, and grasshoppers constituted 6.4, 3.8, 2.1, and 5.4% of the diet, respectively. The results suggest that the Little Owl is an opportunistic feeder, hunting 1-5 prey items per day (ave 2.03±0.13) from a wide range of fast-moving prey to ground-dwelling insects. The analysis resulted in the first record of Pygmy Gerbil Gerbillus henleyi (Rodentia) from Qatar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]