Using web-sourced photographs to examine temporal patterns in sex-specific diet of a highly sexually dimorphic raptor.

ABSTRACT: Traditional methods to study raptor diet are usually limited temporally, e.g. prey remains at nesting sites, and are unsuitable to examine dietary changes throughout the year. Using web-sourced photography, we explore temporal patterns in prey size and key prey species between sexes of the sexually dimorphic Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) throughout the United Kingdom. We examined 666 photographs of sparrowhawk on prey and identified the prey species involved, together with sparrowhawk sex. Changes in prey size and proportions of key prey species over time (seasonally and monthly) were explored for each sex. Prey weight was substantially higher for females than males. However, on average, prey size for both sexes declined during the summer period (May-June) being the lowest

SUBMITTER: Panter CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9579756 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature