THE FOOD-HABITS OF SYMPATRIC CICCABA OWLS IN NORTHERN GUATEMALA

The food habits of eight breeding pairs of Mottled Owls (Ciccaba virga ta) and a single nesting pair of Black-and-white Owls (C. nigrolineata ) were studied in Tikal National Park, Guatemala. Both species capture d large insects, including beetles (primarily scarabaeid, curculionid and cerambycid), grasshoppers (Orthoptera; Acrididae), and cockroaches (Orthoptera; Blattidae). There was little overlap in the vertebrate c omponent of the diets of the two species; Black-and-white Owls fed on bats (especially Artibeus jamaicensis), whereas Mottled Owls ate small rodents (including Oryzomys fulvescens and Sigmodon hispidus). One hu ndred percent of Black-and-white Owl pellets contained insect exoskele tal material; 73% contained bat fur and/or bones. Ninety-eight percent of Mottled Owl pellets contained insect matter, whereas 56% contained vertebrate remains.