Diet composition of lesser kestrels in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia

Abstract

The lesser kestrel is recognized as “Least Concern” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2011. So far, all available diet studies on the lesser kestrel were conducted in its European range or in partial African breeding and nonbreeding range. In particular, little is known about the feeding behavior of this small falcon in Asian ranges. Thus, this study can be considered as the first to examine the diet composition of the central Asian breeding populations of lesser kestrels. This study aims to provide some information about the diet composition of this species among Asian populations through biological and ecological investigations. Pellets (n = 762) dropped by lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) were collected during their breeding season from nine to 10 colony sites in Ikh Nart, between June and September of 2009 and 2010, and analyzed. A total of 1,484 prey items were identified in the pellets collected. After a measure of their weight (g) and length and width (mm), we carefully examined each pellet and separated all prey remains using tweezers. Our results indicated that insects (including orthopterans and coleopterans) were dominant in lesser kestrel’s diets. We found that the lesser kestrel’s diet mainly consisted of insects (69.7%), lizards (17.4%), small mammals (10%), small birds (2%), and other food (1%). Keywords: diet composition, insects, pellets, reptiles, small mammals