Temporal variation in the peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) diet after the extinction of the original population and the emergence of a new population in Slovakia

Abstract

Abstract We made an analysis of the osteological remains of prey that had been captured by the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and was collected from eyries perched high in rocky cliffs of Slovakia. Birds dominated the 7,233 vertebrates identified (class Aves, with minimum of 98 species and 97.2% of the total). Bones from mammals (class Mammalia, 24 species, 2.5%) were rarely found, and sporadic remains from lower vertebrate species (classes Amphibia, Reptilia, Pisces, 0.3%) were also noted. The collected specimens were divided over three distinct periods. Before domestic pigeons became a major component in the juvenile peregrine falcon diet (Period A), wild pigeons and doves were the most common prey; specifically stock doves (Columba oenas) caught at lower elevations, and wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) in mountainous areas. The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) was a frequent prey . The diversity of peregrine falcon diet reached its maximum between the 1930s and the 1950s (Period B), with the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica) present in the diet at a similar abundance (16.1%) to wild pigeons and doves. The peregrine falcon population tailed off in the 1960s as pesticides became more commonly used in agriculture. A new population started expanding from Western Europe during the 1990s and has stabilised at around 150 breeding pairs in recent years. Since the turn of the millennium (Period C), domestic pigeons have become the dominant prey (51.1%) along with smaller songbirds such as hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) and common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), at 15.5% and 14.6% of total osteological remains collected, respectively.