HIGHWAY MORTALITY OF BARN OWLS IN NORTHEASTERN FRANCE

We found a total of 187 road-killed raptors along a 150 km stretch of highway in northeastern France between 1990-94. Of these, 148 were Bar n Owls (Tyto alba), 15 Long-eared Owls (Asio otus), and 10 Tawny Owls (Strix aluco). We analyzed different variables including the topograph y of highways, the types of habitats crossed by highways, and the type s of vegetation along highways to determine why so many Barn Owls were killed. Most mortalities (64%) occurred along embanked stretches that crossed open fields and lacked hedges on either side. We concluded th at the local population density and flight behavior of Barn Owls were probably related to such high mortality.