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Feeding ecology of the Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus in the south of Alicante (SE Spain)

Abstract:

The diet composition of the Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus was studied in 15 territories in southern Alicante (Spain) in 2012-2014. In all, 571 pellets were analyzed. Insects occurred in 89.9% of samples, while birds occurred in 7.5%, mammals in 2.5% and reptiles in only 0.08%. Nevertheless, mammals represented 62.3% of the biomass of the diet. This diet composition differs from reports from northern and central Europe, where larger prey items such as micro-mammals predominate. This could be due to several factors including, above all, the lower density and richness of micro-mammals in the Mediterranean region and differences in the activity patterns of both micro-mammals and Kestrels in this region. We found local spatial differences in the consumption of birds that could be related to dissimilarities in land-use intensification or local primary prey abundance. Finally, we report the first records of the consumption by Kestrels of an exotic invasive Coleoptera, the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.