Diet of American Kestrel (Falco sparverius Linnaeus, 1758) in two localities at the north ecuadorian interandean valley

• Autores: Pozo-Zamora, Glenda M., Aguirre, Jonathan, Brito M., Jorge
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2017
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.csi.unmsm:article/12305
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistasinvestigacion.unmsm.edu.pe/index.php/rpb/article/view/12305
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: feeding; pellets; Pichincha; preys; trophic ecology; Alimentación; ecología trófica; egagrópilas; presas; región interandina

We present the diet of American Kestrel Falco sparverius, through pellets analysis, from two different localities in the Ecuadorian north-interandean region. The most representative prey items from Sangolquí and Tababela were Coleoptera (48.4, and 39.5%), followed by Orthoptera (31.3 and 30.7%), respectively. In terms of biomass, mammals were the most important food resource in both sites, the invasive rodent Mus musculus was the most preferred prey; it would provide an appreciable predatory as pest control service. The Shannon index (H'= 1.894) indicates a median diversity of prey and, a diet amplitude of 0.26 suggests that the American Kestrel in our study sites is a specialist. Its diet differs from its relatives from other habitats where they present a generalist diet.