Grey Musk Shrew (Suncus murinus) a Favorite Prey of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in Calicut, Kerala

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a widely distributed resident nocturnal raptor. The pellets of Barn owl were collected and studied from the zoology wing of St. Josephs college, Calicut, Kerala during April-July 2013. Regurgitated pellets of barn owl were analyzed to understand the dietary composition. The aim of the study is to find out seasonal difference of food preferred by the barn owl, estimating the average size of each pellet to assess the difference in total intake of food during rainy and summer seasons, to compare the amount of bones in each pellet to know the availability of shrew during the rainy and summer season. It was found that the diet comprised of exclusively the rodent Suncus murinus and its consumption among two seasons was not similar.