Diet of the Eurasian Hobby breeding in Western Aomori, Northern Honshu

Abstract

Diet of the Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo nesting in Western Aomori was determined from a study of food debris and parental pellets at five and seven nests in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and a video of parental feeding behavior for one nest in 2019 (Nest 2019 A). The food debris analysis indicated that the food items included small birds and insects, including 32 species of 21 families of birds, three species of one family of bats, and 24 species of 14 families of insects. The predated birds included Oriental Greenfinch (18.3% of preyed birds), Barn Swallow (17.9%), Chestnut-cheeked Starling (15.3%), and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (14.1%). Most of the predated insects were Cicadidae (52.8% of preyed insects) and Odonata (44.1%). In the parental feedings recorded by video, parents delivered insects (145 times) more than birds (23 times) to nestlings. These results indicate that hobbies breeding in Western Aomori mainly predated small birds and insects that inhabit the area around the nesting sites.