Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Prey Abundance On Breeding Season Diet Of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter Gentilis) Within An Unusual Prey Landscape, Robert A. Miller, Jay D. Carlisle, Marc J. Bechard

Intermountain Bird Observatory Publications and Presentations

A critical element of diet analysis is species adaptability to alternative prey sources. The breeding-season diet of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) includes both mammalian and avian species, varies geographically, and is often dependent upon tree squirrels of the genera Sciurus andTamiasciurus. We studied alternative prey sources of Northern Goshawks in the South Hills of south-central Idaho, an area where tree squirrels are naturally absent and other prey frequently important in the diet of goshawks, such as smaller corvids, are uncommon. We quantified the diet of goshawks using nest cameras and surveyed abundance of prey using line …