Owls diets can be quite varied as they are opportunistic feeders which means they eat whatever is most easily available to them at the time/location they are hunting. If their usual food preference is not available they will make do with what is available. This is great for survival purposes but not as straight forward to answer. So lets dive into the question…
What do owls eat?
Owls eat a very varied diet which is heavily carnivorous. An owls diet can vary between reptiles, rodents, amphibians, Insects, small mammals and fruit! Owls are considered birds of prey which means their preferred choice is meat but owls will eat non-meat alternatives if this is the only food source available.
In this post I am going to pick a handful of different owl species and dive into their eating habits and explain how this varies due to environmental differences and prey opportunities. We will be looking at the below owl species:
- Burrowing owl
- Eastern Screech owl
- Barn owl
- Eagle owl
- Tawny owl
Burrowing owl
Burrowing owls are mainly located in North and South America and extend into Mexico, and Florida. They tend to nest in dry areas such as grasslands and deserts alongside other burrowing animals such a prairie dogs (see my other post about this symbiotic relationship – Do Burrowing Owls Depend on Prairie Dogs?). They prefer to be lower to the ground than other owl species as they nest on the ground, so they’re often spotted either on the ground or on fences and mounds.
Burrowing owl’s main choice of prey tends to be insects and small mammals. This ranges from larger insects like beetles through to mice, rabbits and voles etc. Reptiles are also regularly hunted by Burrowing owls, along with scorpions. This diet fits with the Burrowing owl’s habitat as they are all ground species that can be hunted from their burrows. The owl will chase their prey along the ground and therefore won’t always rely on flight for hunting. These creatures are also located in dry, grassy or desert landscapes and therefore are the most prominent species to hunt. The Burrowing owls are not limited though in their diet, if availability changes, they will hunt smaller birds and bats also. They tend to hunt insects and reptiles much more during the colder months and will even happily consume fruit, nuts, berries and plants making them much more omnivore than many other owl species who stick primarily to meat.
Eastern Screech owl
Eastern Screech owls are located in Eastern North America, South Central Texas, Mexico and Canada. They tend to nest in woods, often located near water and they’re not scared of being located close to humans. They have been known to nest in farms, parks, and suburban areas and rely heavily on trees for their nests. They will also use nest boxes if these are provided as they rarely make their own nests. Anywhere without a tree will not home an Eastern Screech owl, therefore their prey will reflect this. Eastern Screech owls eat a varied diet made up of insects, smaller birds, frogs, spiders, bats and mammals. These creatures are found in wooded areas near water. These creatures also all rely on water or trees or wooded soil for their general survival. Since they are not scared of being in human inhabited areas, they also tend to snack on bird feeders.
Barn owl
The name is a slight give away but Barn owls don’t only live in barns, although they are known to. They also nest in any outdoor rural buildings and within tree hollows along the edges of fields and on the roadside (Sadly). Barn owls nest in derelict buildings, chimneys, bridges, cliff edges, towers, basically any crevice they can fit themselves into near open country they will be happy. They prefer to be higher off the ground unlike Burrowing owls and often out of sight. Barn owls are found all over the world so its probably better to list the places where you wont find them and this tends to be Asia, majority of Indonesia, and some pacific islands, the Barn owl does not enjoy arctic or desert conditions so you will not find them in polar regions.
So what do Barn owls tend to eat? Their diets consists of mostly small mammals and this makes sense because small mammals also inhabit barns and out houses more so than any other species. Barn owls will also eat smaller birds and bats if the opportunity arises but usually they will stick to mice, shrews, voles and rats.
Eagle owl
Eagles owls are one of the most widely distributed owls along with the Barn owl and therefore can be found in Europe, north Africa, Asia, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Siberia and Ethiopia so as you can see, they can live and survive in almost any climate. Their habitat tends to be mountain ranges, deserts, coniferous forests, woodlands, grasslands, rivers, and rocky environments. They tend to nest on cliff edges or near trees and bushes with plenty of rocks.
These owls tend to inhabit very varied environments therefore their prey is more varied depending on this. Ultimately though, their main prey source will usually be rodents and they will mostly consume rats, voles, rabbits, and mice. But for example if the owl is nesting near a river they may equally consume fish, frogs, shell fish etc. Likewise, rocky cliff edges may bring in more reptiles therefore this will take a spot in their daily prey selection. As you can see, these owls can make do with anything and can expand their diet whenever they see fit, they have even been known to eat a stranger selection of prey such as injured foxes, and deer.
Tawny owl
Tawny owls are located within England, Wales, Scotland and stretch towards the Iberian Peninsula towards Korea and south to Iran and the Himalayas. A sub-species of the breed even pans into northwest Africa. They are primarily found in woodland areas but can live anywhere with plenty of trees, even areas located near humans such as parks and urban/suburban gardens, like the Eastern Screech Owl. Therefore, their diet tends to be similar to the Screech owl and be made up of mainly small mammals, rodents, frogs, fish, insects and smaller birds.
Therefore, to conclude, what do owls eat? They have extremely varied diets depending on the owl species and the habitat that they live in. One main thing that can be applied across the board for owls are that they generally eat plenty of meat as their protein requirements for optimum health must be met through a mainly carnivorous diet, therefore they are considered birds of prey. Although, owls will eat non-meat options such as fruit, plants, berries when necessary and this is mainly because they are opportunistic hunters and therefore will eat whatever is easily available – ultimately survival is key.