Proyecto Selva de Pino Paraná, Durañona S/N, San Pedro, Misiones, Argentina | Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-UNaM, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina
Gomez, Milka R., Carlos A. Ferreyra, and Kristina L. Cockle. 2026. “Repeated Predation by Tawny-Browed Owl (Pulsatrix Koeniswaldiana) on a Nesting Colony of Red-Rumped Cacique (Cacicus Haemorrhous)”. Nuestras Aves 71 (February). https://doi.org/10.56178/na.v71i.1173.
Between 2017 and 2022 a pair of Tawny-browed Owls (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana) repeatedly preyed on a nesting colony of Red-rumped Caciques (Cacicus haemorrhous) in the Atlantic Forest, Misiones, Argentina. We studied these interactions opportunistically and using a camera trap. The owl gripped the nest with its talons and flapped its wings to support itself, opening the nest with its beak. We confirmed that it picked up a dead chick (dried up) and hunted at least three feathered birds (apparent adults). In 2021, the presumed male killed a cacique by squeezing its neck with his beak and then handed it to his mate, who carried it away probably to a nearby nest. In 2022, owls nested ~50 m from the colony; they continued to stalk the colony and the caciques abandoned it. Studies on hunting tactics in Strigiformes will provide further insight into their behaviors and how they influence their prey.
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