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1 December 2012 The Diet of Breeding Brown Falcons (Falco berigora) In the Canberra Region, Australia, With Comparisons To Other Regions
Paul G. McDonald, Jerry Olsen, A. B. Rose
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Abstract

Brown Falcons (Falco berigora) are generalist predators that take prey from a range of different taxonomic groups. Further, this species is one of the most widespread raptors in Australasia, providing great scope for dietary flexibility. However, few studies have reported on the diet of this species, and none in any detail for the relatively dry, continental climate of the Canberra region of southeastern Australia. We therefore examined this species' diet from 29 collections of prey remains and pellets from 20 nesting territories over five breeding seasons of Brown Falcon pairs breeding within 40 km of Canberra in 2002–06 and again in 2009. A total of 307 prey items was recorded, 15 of which were novel for this species. These novel prey items largely reflected locally common species that were of a similar size and niche to prey previously recorded in other regions, such as a new prey species of quail or beetle. Unusual prey included garden snails (Helix aspersa) and an owl, the Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae). Other infrequently captured prey items such as freshwater molluscs (Corbicula australis and Glyptophysa gibbosa) and crayfish (Cherax sp.) illustrated the extraordinary dietary flexibility of Brown Falcons. In comparison with previous detailed studies, Canberra-based pairs had a relatively small geometric mean prey weight of 7.7 g, and tended to take a higher proportion of invertebrates across a relatively narrow niche breadth. When biomass was considered, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were an important food source, making up half of the total biomass in the diet.

Paul G. McDonald, Jerry Olsen, and A. B. Rose "The Diet of Breeding Brown Falcons (Falco berigora) In the Canberra Region, Australia, With Comparisons To Other Regions," Journal of Raptor Research 46(4), 394-400, (1 December 2012). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-12-05.1
Received: 18 January 2012; Accepted: 1 July 2012; Published: 1 December 2012
KEYWORDS
Brown Falcon
diet
Falco berigora
nest
prey
rabbit
rabbit calicivirus disease
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