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Importance of Rodents and Bandicoots in the diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Importance of Rodents and Bandicoots in the diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl

Michael K. Todd, Rodney P. Kavanagh, Chris P. Spencer, Phil J. Bell, Nick J. Mooney and Sarah A. Munks
Australian zoologist, Vol.44(2), pp.300-321
27/03/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2024.045
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

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Abstract

masked owl diet Tasmania environmental factors prey species small mammals
The food requirements of owls are critical to their conservation management. This study quantified the diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae castanops at 17 sites in eastern Tasmania, through the examination of regurgitated pellets. Mammals dominated the diet at all but one of the sites, with introduced rodents (mostly introduced Black Rat Rattus rattus and House Mouse Mus musculus) prominent in the diet at all sites. Bandicoots (mostly the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Perameles gunnii) were an important food item in diet collections south of Hobart. There was a wider range of larger-sized mammals in the diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl than is usually found in the diet of the mainland Australian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae. The prey species most common in the diet appears to vary across Tasmania and the findings suggest there is a focus on particular food sources at a particular locality. Prey partitioning between the sexes may account for some of this variation since this owl has a large degree of sexual dimorphism by size.

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