Habitat characterization and diet determination of the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea Bonaparte, 1825) in north-central Mexico

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a bird of prey of the strigiform order, it is distributed from southern Canada to South America, inhabits grasslands and thickets with low-rise shrubs. The decrease of their habitat due to various causes has affected their populations; In Mexico, the subspecie hypugaea is part of NOM-059 in the category of special protection. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: to characterize the habitat of the burrowing owl and determine the composition of its diet in central northern Mexico. The search for owls and the collection of egagrópilas was carried out during May to December 2018. The characterization of the habitat was carried out from October to December of the same year. At the sites where owls were located, the habitat was characterized, egagropyls were collected and placed in Petri dishes and transported to the San Luis Potosí del Colegio Campus laboratory Postgraduate. 10 sites with the presence of an owl were found, 32 active burrows were located; San Luis Potosí (13 burrows), Zacatecas (3 burrows), Durango (8 burrows) and Coahuila (8 burrows). The variables that explain the presence of the owl in the areas studied were: a) origin of the cavity, b) height of the entrance of the burrow, c), the diameter of the entrance, d) visibility, e) rock cover and f) woody material. The variables that influenced the selection of burrows were the height and width of the burrow entrance, the height of the mound, grass cover and woody material. 79 egagropiles were collected with an average length, width and weight of 26.73 ± 6.8, 12.82 ± 2.29 mm and 0.95 ± 0.44 g, respectively. In these, mainly the remains of people belonging to the orders Coleoptera (75%), Hymenoptera (11%) Orthoptera (5%) were registered. The information generated about the owl's habitat and diet contributes to the knowledge of the species in the southern Chihuahuan Desert.