Chapter 6 - Habitat

Summary

In this chapter we review the parameters that are of importance for the species, its prey species and its predators. The favored habitat for the Little Owl varies from the natural landscapes of steppe and arid deserts to anthropogenic areas. The common features are open areas with low grass, perches and cavities in the ground, rocks, trees or buildings. The species avoids forests, fallow land and large parcels of arable land. A mosaic effect seems to be important for the species, due to the use of habitat edges, in particular for the richness in prey found there. The relations between the landscape factors will determine local owl densities and demographics. All quantitative studies available were done on anthropogenic habitats. Of natural habitats, only qualitative descriptions were available. We first discuss natural habitats in general terms, then we give an overview of different types of occupied anthropogenic habitats, followed by the actual preference of the species toward certain habitat parameters. The latter studies entail both occupied and unoccupied habitats, while habitat typology studies consider only occupied habitats.