Research Articles

Diet of Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus in a farmland area near Algiers, Algeria

Published in: Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology
Volume 84 , issue 2 , 2013 , pages: 113–117

DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2013.781551

Author(s): Abdessalam Manaa Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Karim Souttou Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Makhlouf Sekour Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Djamel Bendjoudi Department of Biology, Faculty of Agro-Veterinary and Biology, Algeria , Omar Guezoul Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Fadila Baziz-Neffah Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Salaheddine Doumandji Laboratory of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, Algeria , Emmanuelle Stoetzel UMR CNRS 7194 – Department of Prehistory, France , Christiane Denys UMR CNR S5202 – USM601 – CP51 – Mammals and Birds, Department of Systematics and Evolution, France

Keywords: Accipitridae , Black-shouldered Kite , diet , Elanus caeruleus , Meftah , rodents

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Abstract

The diet of the Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus was analysed in a recently colonised area in Meftah, south-eastern Algiers, Algeria. The diet was determined by analysing 144 pellets. Our data showed that the diet was dominated by rodents with Algerian mouse Mus spretus comprising between 61% and 77% of the diet. Based on relative biomass, rodents were the main prey species, comprising 88.1% of the diet in 2006, 68.4% in 2007 and 52.0% in 2008. Birds were the second-most important prey, comprising as much as 43.4% of the diet in 2008. The Algerian mouse was the major prey species both in spring (60.0% in 2007) and in summer (80.0% in 2006).

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