Owls and the City: The Breeding Performance of Burrowing Owls Athene cunicularia is Better in Urban Than in Rural Areas

CAVALLI, MATILDE; BALADRÓN, ALEJANDRO VÍCTOR; BÓ, MARÍA SUSANA; ISACCH, JUAN PABLO

ARDEOLA

SOC ESPANOLA ORNITOLGIA

Año: 2023 vol. 71 p. 81 - 100

0570-7358

Urbanisation is a drastic process of environmental modification that often causes negative impacts on wildlife. Effects are diverse, ranging from local extinction to changes in behaviour, life-history traits and physiology. Urban settings represent a great challenge for survival since in such environments selective pressures often differ from those in which species have evolved. However, some species could perceive urban settings as ecological opportunities and may benefit there from anthropogenic food sources, low predation pressures and more stable temperatures among other factors. The Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia is a small raptor that lives in native short grass areas but is also found in these modified habitats. We compared phenology, breeding parameters (productivity, clutch size and nest success) and breeding behaviour of Burrowing Owls nesting in urban and rural areas. We monitored 89 nests in urban areas and 45 in rural areas over the breeding season (September-January). Weekly, we recorded the breeding stage and the number of adults and chicks at each nest. We used mini HD video-cameras to monitor breeding behaviour and parental care. We found that the breeding period of urban Burrowing Owls was longer than rural owls. Clutch size and productivity were similar for both urban and rural habitats, but urban owls showed greater nesting success compared to rural owls. Rural owls devoted more time to nest vigilance in comparison to urban owls during the incubation stage, thus suggesting a difference in predator pressure between urban and rural areas. All these results indicate that urban settings offer opportunities for Burrowing Owls and that urban characteristics seem to enhance owl breeding performance. - Cavalli, M., Baladrón, A.V., Bó, M.S. & Isacch, J.P. (2024). Owls and the city: the breeding performance of Burrowing Owls Athene cunicularia is better in urban than in rural areas.