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--AND --'. 1993. The function of aggressive ORIANS,G.H. 1961. The ecology of blackbird (Agelaius) chasesby breeding Black and Red Kites Milvus mi- socialsystem. Ecol. Monog• 31:285-312. gransand M. milvusduring the post-fledgingdepen- --. 1969. On the evolutionof mating systemsin birds denceperiod. Ibis 135:139-147. and mammals. Am. Nat. 103:589-603. CRAMP, S. AND K.E.L. SIMMONS. 1980. Handbook of the ROGERS, P.M. AND K. MYERS. 1980. distribution, birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. lanscapeclassification and wildlife management,Coto Vol. II. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, U.K. de Dofiana, Spain.J. Appl.Ecol. 17:545-565. DAVIES,P.W. •ND P.E. DAVIS.1973. The ecologyand con- SIMMONS, R.E., R.E. SMITH AND R.B. MACWHIRTER. 1986. servation of the Red Kite in Wales. Br. Birds 66:183- Hierachies among Northern Harriers (Circuscyaneus) 224. haremsand the costof polygyny.J. Anim.Ecol. 55:755- 771. FAABORG,J. ANDJ.C. BEDNARZ.1990. Gal/tpagosand Har- ris' Hawks:divergent causesof socialityin two raptors. TELL%J.L. 1993. Polyandroustrios in a population of Pages357-383 in P. Staceyand W.D. Koenig [EDS.], EgyptianVultures. J. RaptorRes. 27:119-120. Cooperative breeding in birds. Cambridge Univ. --, JJ. NEGRO,M. VILLARROEL,U. KUHNLEIN,F. HI- Press,Cambridge, NY U.S.A. RALDO,F. DON•ZARAND D. BIRD. 1996. DNA finger- GLUTZ VON BLOTZHEIM, U.N., K.M. BAUERAND E. BEZZEL. printing revealspolygyny in the LesserKestrel (Falco naumanni). Auk 113:262-265. 1971. Handbuch der VGgel Mitteleuropas.Vol. 4. Fal- VALET,G. 1975.La sedentarisationdu Milan RoyalMilvus coniformis. Vol. 4. AcademischeVerlagsgesellschaft milvus en Auxois. Alauda 43:263-269. AULA-verlag,Wiesbaden, Germany. VALVERDE,J.A. 1958. An ecological sketch of the Coto HEREDIA,B. ANDJ.A. DON•ZAR.1990. High frequencyof Dofiana. Br. Birds 51:1-23. polyandroustrios in an endangeredpopulation of VERNER,J. ANDM.E WILSON.1966. The influence of hab- Lammergeiers ( Gypaetusbarbatus). Biol. Conserv.53: itat on mating systemof North American passerlne 163-171. birds. Ecology47:143-147. HIRALDO,F.,jj. NEGROANDJ.A. DON•ZAR. 1991. Aborted WEATHERHEAD,PJ. ANDRJ. ROBERTSON.1979. Offspring polygynyin the LesserKestrel Falco naumanni (Aves, qualityand the polygynythreshold: "the sexyson hy- Falconidae). Ethology 89:253-257. pothesis". Am. Nat. 113:201-208. NEWTON,I. 1979.Population ecology ofraptors. T. & A.D. Poyser,Berkhamsted, U.K. Received 5 December 1998; accepted 20 April 1999

j. RaptorRes. 33 (3) :257-260 ¸ 1999 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc.

MITES IN GREATER SPOTrED EAGLE NESTS

DAPaUSZJ. GWIAZDOWICZ,TADEUSZ MIZERA AND MACIEJSKORUPSKI AkademiaRolnicza, Katedra Ochrony Lasu, and Zoologii •rodowiska Przyrodniczego, ul. Wojska Polskiego 71c, PL 60-625 Poznmi, Poland

KEYWoRDs: SpottedEagle;, Aquila clanga;; ; Me- (Querqusspp.) and willows (Salix spp.). While the sostigmata;Biebrza National Park Poland. fauna in the nests of severalpredatory birds has been studied in Europe (Nordberg 1936, Philips 1981, Wi•- niewski and Hirschmann 1985, 1990, Mizera 1990, Maian The Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga)is among 1993), the acarofaunaof Greater SpottedEagle nestshas the rarest predatory birds in the world, nestingfrom the never been described.In this paper, we identify mites of eastern areas of Poland, through Belarus and Russiato the order Mesostigmatawhich inhabit the nestsof Greater the Pacific coast (Meyburg 1994). In Poland, it is legally Spotted Eagles in Poland. These mites are small (adult protected and classifiedin the Red Data Book as Endan- length 0.4-1.6 mm), free4iving which have gered (Kr61 1992). It nestsin impenetrable boggywoods phoretic or other relationshipswith birds. and, in Poland, only about 12 pairs remain in Biebrza National Park (Maciorowskiet al. 1996). Greater Spotted METHODS Eagles build their nests only in birches (Betula spp.), Samples were obtained at two Greater Spotted Eagle black beech (Alnusglutinosa) and, lessfrequently, in oaks nests in Biebrza National Park in northeastern Poland. 258 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 33, No. 3

The lining of the first nest was collected in 1994. The molaelaps)vacua which is typicallyencountered in decid- samplecontained branches and grass and weighed ab{•ut uous and conifer forests,in humus and moss,in decaying 300 g. At the time of collection,there wasone 7-wk-old wood, and in nestsof antsof the genusLasius (Bregetova nestling in the nest. Subsequentobservation confirmed 1977b, Karg 1993). Lastly,we identified two femalesof that this bird later successfullyfledged. The nestwas built •n the crown of an aspen tree (Populustremuloides) in Hypoaspis(Pneumolaelaps) lubrica in Nest I. It is typically 1991 and wasreused each year. It wasbuilt mainly from found on rotten plants, in rodent nests, and on rodents branches and mistletoe. The sample from the second themselves, as well as in the nests of Sand Martins (Ri- nest was collected in 1995. It had a similar composition paria riparia) (Karg 1993). and wasapproximately the sameweight. This nest wasin Three speciesin the family Digamasellidaeoccurred in a birch tree. both nests. A total of 40 females, four males, and 50 deu- Mites were extractedfrom collectedmaterial by funnel- tonymphs of Dendrolaelaps(Punctodendrolaelaps) fallax heat dessicationand preservedin 70% alcohol.For mac- were in Nest I but only five femalesand one deutonymph eration and bleaching, mites were placed in a drop of were found in Nest II. This is a speciesthat is commonly lacto-phenol on a slide and a coverslipwas applied. Per- found in compost and stable manure (Hirschmann and manent preparations were made in polyvinyl alcohol (Evans 1992). Wi•niewski 1982, Karg 1993). Twelve female, one male, three deutonymph, and one larva of Dendrolaelaps(Punc- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION todendrolaelaps)zoengrisae were found in Nest II. It has been previously found in ant (Formica fusca) nests Only mites of the order Mesostiffmatawere identified to (Hirschmann and Wi•niewski 1982). Only one female of genusand specieslevel. Two subclassesof miteswere rep- Dendrolaelaps( Apophyseodendrolaelaps) zzooelferi was in Nest resented, the Anactinotrichida and Actinotrichida. In the II. It has been previouslyfound in nests of the Formica subclass Anactinotrichida, we identified mites in seven rufa, under pine bark, in the pathwaysof Dryocoetesauto- families of the suborder Gamasina. Nest II contained one graphus,and in SandMartin nests (•erbak 1980). deutonymph of Parasitusconsanguineus which is a rare A female and a deutonymphof two additional species, species in the Parasitadae found in arable and meadow Paragarmaniasp. (Phytoseiidae)and Halolaelapssp. (Hal- softs, in compost, stable manure, and in decomposing olaelapidae) were also found in Nest II. organic material (Karg 1993). This is a new speciesto the We found mites representing five families in the sub- Polish fauna. We also found a Macrochelid, Macrocheles order Uropodina. One specieseach in the familiesTrach- ancyleus,in both Nest I (104 females, 28 males, 21 deu- ytidae and Polyaspidaeoccurred in Nest I. We found one tonymphs,9 protonymphs) and Nest II (242 females, 28 female Trachytesaegrota (). It is a species males, 15 deutonymphs, 5 protonymphs). It has been found in moss,soil, grass,often in litter of deciduousand found previously in the decaying wood of aspen trees conifer forests,in rotting wood, in the paths of bark bee- (Krauss1970) but it is also a new speciesto the Polish ties, in bird nests,nests of the mole Talpa europaea,and fauna. Macrochelid mites are not uncommon in birds ant nests (Karg 1989, Wi•niewski and Hirschmann 1993). nestsand are known from other raptor nests (Ambros et A total of 44 females,49 males,51 deutonymphs,38 pro- al. 1992, Philips et al. 1983, Zeman andJurlk 1981). tonymphs,and one larva of Uroseius(Apionoseius) infirmus We also identified three speciesof mites in the family (Polyaspidae)were also identified from this nest. This : cetratus, Proctolaelaps pini, and P. pyg- speciesis typicallyfound in moldy wood, in rotting parts maeus.We found one female and one protonymph of of plants, in the litter of deciduous and coniferous for- in Nest I and two females in Nest II. ests,and in bird nests (Kadite and Petrova 1977, Karg This specieshas previouslybeen found in soilsof arable 1989, Ma•an 1993, Wi•niewski and Hirschmann 1993). fields, in compost,in deciduousand mixed forests,and Three speciesin the family Trematuridae were in both humus between plant roots (Karg 1993). In Nest II, we nestsbut they were not common. A female and male of alsofound 37 females,seven males, nine deutonymphs, Nenteriafloralis, a speciesassociated with dunghills and and five protonymphs of P. pini. It is typicallyfound in greenhouse soils (Wi•niewski and Hirschmann 1993), pine stumps and on bark beetles (Hylastesspp.) (Karg were found in Nest II. This is a new speciesto the Polish 1993). We also found five females, one male, and one fauna. Four females, three males, two deutonymphs, deutonymph of P. pyffmaeusin Nest II. It has been previ- three protonymphs,and one larva of Nenteriapandioni ously found in soil, moss,decaying plants, and nestsof were identified in Nest I and 74 females, 26 males, 229 small mammals(Bregetova 1977a). deutonymphs,48 protonymphs,and nine larvae were Three speciesof mites were in the family Laelapidae. found in Nest II. This specieshas only been tbund in One female, one male, and one deutonymphof Andro- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)and White-tailed Sea Eagle laelapscasalis occurred in Nest II. It is a speciestypically (Haliaeetus albicilla) nests (Wiõniewski and Hirschmann found in the soilsof meadows,humus between roots, hay 1985, 1990) (Fig. 1). Two females of 7•ichouropodaovalis, and straw,and in nestsof rodentsand birds (Karg 1993), a speciescommonly found in hay, moss, mushrooms, such as raptors (Philips 1981, Zeman and Jurik 1981). straw, ant nests, the paths of Scolytidae,on Cerambycidae Also in Nest II, we found two femalesof Hypoaspis(Cos- and Scarabaeidae,in decayingwood, in hollow tree trunks, SEPTEMBER 1999 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 259

Figure 1. A dorsalview of Nenteriapandioni (Wi•niewski and Hirschmann 1985). and in bird and mole nests (Wi•niewski and Hirschmann PreviouslyN. pandioniwas found only in the nestsof Os- 1993), was also found in Nest II. preys and White-tailed Sea Eagles (Wi•niewski and Two speciesof mites in the family Urodinychidae,Di- Hirschmann 1985). The large numbers of all stagesof nychusperforatus and Uroobovellaobovata, were identified. development of N. pandioni that we found in Greater One female ofDinychusperforatus was found in Nest I and Spotted Eagle nestsappear to confirm that eagle nests Uroobovellaobovata was found in both Nest I (two females, provide a specificmicrohabitat for this mite. two males, and one deutonymph) and Nest II (sevenfe- males,three males,and two deutonymphs).Both species RESUMEN.--Losnidos de avesrapaces proveen un micro- are usuallyencountered in rotting litter of deciduousfor- habitat para pequefios invertebrados, particularmente ests,meadow soils, moss, decaying plant material, mole para piojos. Estudiamosla acarofaunadel orden Mesot•g- nests,and phoretically on birds (Karg 1989, Wi•niewski mata que habita en nidos de Aquila clangaen el parque and Hirschmann 1993). Nacional de Biebrza en el noreste de Polonia. Veintiuna We found one representativeof the family Uropodi- especiesde piojosfueron identificados.Una especie:Nen- dae, Uropoda(Phaulodinychus) hamulifera. Ten deuto- teriapandioni, aparentemente es dependiente del habitat nymphsand two protonymphswere found in both nests. de anidaciCn de Haliaeetusalbicilla y de Pandionhaliaetus This species is found in ant nests and stable manure Las otras especiesfueron encontradasen madera podri- (Karg 1989, Wi•niewski and Hirschmann 1993). da, basura, composty nidos de aves. In the material collected, 1267 mites in the order Me- [TraducciCn de CGsarM•trquez] sostigmataand 646 in the subclassActinotrichida were found. Mites in the order Mesostigmatarepresented 21 LITERATURE CITED speciesand 12 families. Eleven and 16 speciesof mites were found in NestsI and II, respectively.Six specieswere AMBROS,M.,J. KRI•TOFiK AND Z. •USTEK.1992. The m•tes common to both nests.The most frequently found spe- (Acari, MesostiKmata) in the birds' nests in Slovakre. cies in Nest I were U. infirmus (183 individuals), M. an- Bio16gia(Bratislava) 47(5):369-381. cy/eus(162), D. fatlax (94), and N. pandioni(13). In Nest BREGETOVA,N.G. 1977a. SemejstvoAceosejidae. Pages 169- II, the most frequent specieswere N. pandioni(386), M. 476 in M.S. Giljarovand N.G. Bregetova[EDs.], Opre- ancyleus(290), P.pini (58), and D. wengrisae(17). Species delitiet obitaju•eih v poevie kle•aej MesostiKmata.Nau- new to the Polish fauna were M. ancyleus,N. floralis,and ka, Leningrad, Russia. P. consanguineus. 1977b. SemejstvoLaelaptidae. Pages 483-554 •n It is difficult to evaluate the relationship between free- M.S. Giljarovand N.G. Bregetova[EDs.], Opredelmet living mites and predatory birds; however,some species obitaju•ih v poevie kle•eej MesostiKmata.Nauka, Len- of mites occur,almost exclusively,in nestsof thesebirds. ingrad, Russia. 260 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS VOL. 33, NO. 3

EVANS,G.O. 1992. Principles of acarology.C.A.B. Inter- [EDS.], Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 2. national, Wallingford, U.K. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. HIRSCHMANN,W. ANDJ. WlgNIEWSKI.1982. Weltweite Re- MlZERA,T. 1990. The White-tailed Sea Eagle Haliaeetus vision der Gattungen DendrolaelapsHalbert 1915 und albidllain Poland: presentstatus and prospects.Pages LongoseiusChant 1961 (Parasitiformes).Acarologie 17-23 inJ. Viksne and I. Vilks lEDS.],Baltic birds 5, (Niirnberg)29, I: 1-190, II: 1-48. ecology,migration and protection of Balticbirds. Pro- KADITE,B.A. ANDA.D. PETROVA.1977. Kohorta Uropodina, ceedingsof the Fifth Conference on the Study and family Uropodidae.Pages 632-690 in M.S. Giljarovand Conservationof Migratory Birds of the Baltic Basin, N.G. Bregetova lEDs.], Opredelitiet obitaju•ih v po- Zinatne, Riga, Russia. •vie kle•ej Mesostig'mata.Nauka, Leningrad, Russia. NORDBERG,S. 1936. Biologisch-6kologischeuntersuchun- K•I•G, W. 1989. Acari (Acarina), Milben Unterordnung gen fiber die Vogelnidicolen. Acta Zool.Fenn. 21:1- Parasitiformes (Anactinochaeta) Uropodina Kramer, 168. Schildkr6tenmilben. GustavFischer Verlag, Jena, Ger- PHILIPS,J.R. 1981. Mites (Acarina) from nestsof Norwe- many. gian birds of prey. Fauna Norv.Sex. B. 28:44-47. 1993. Acari (Acarina), Milben Parasitiformes(An- , M. ROOT AND P. DES1MONE.1983. actinochaeta),Cohors Gamasina Leach. Raubenmilben. from a Saw-whetOwl (Aegoliusacadicus) nest in Con- GustavFischer Verlag, Jena, Germany. necticut. Entomol. News 2:60-64. Kl•uss, W. 1970.Die europ/iischenArten der Gattungen g•ER•d•,G.I. 1980.Kle•fiej semejstva Rhodacaridae Pa- MacrochelesLatreille 1829 und GeholaspisBerlese 1918. learktyki. Naukova Dumka, Kijev, Ukraine. A carologie(Niirnberg) 14:2-43. WlgN1EWSKI,J. AND W. HIRSCHMANN.1985. Studium einer KruSE,W. 1992. Orlik grubodziobyAquila clanga(Greater neuen Nenteria-Artder stammeri-Gruppeaus einem Fi- Spotted Eagle). Pages 129-131 in Z. Gtowacifiski schadlernest in Polen (Trichouropodini,Uropodinae). [ED.], Polish Red Data Book of . State Pub- Acarologie(Niirnberg) 32:161-163. lishing House of Agricultural and Forestry,Warszawa, -- AND --.. 1990. ErgSnzungsbeschreibungvon Poland. Nenteriapandioni Wi•niewski et Hirschmann, 1985 (Ac- MACIOROWSKI,G., B.-U. MEYBURG,J. MATTHESAND T. MIZ- arina, Uropodina)aus Polen. Ann. Zool.43:259-269. EP,A. 1996. Breeding biology of the Greater Spotted --AND --. 1993. Katalog der Ganggattungen, Eagle (Aquila clanga)in Poland. Pages35-36 in Sec- Untergattungen, Gruppen und Arten der Uropodiden ond International Conference on Raptors,Raptor Re- der Erde. Acarologie(Nt•rnberg) 40:1-220. searchFoundation, Urbino, Italy. ZEIvta2q,P. AND M. JURiK. 1981. A contribution to the M^gAN,P. 1993. Mites (Acarina) associatedwith species knowledge of fauna and ecologyof Gamasoidmites of Trox ( Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae). Eur. J. Entomol.90: in cavity nests of birds in Czechoslovakia.Folia paras- 359-364. itol. (Praha)28:265-271. ME•3UI•G,B.-U. 1994. Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clan- ga. Page 193 in J. Hoyo, A. Elliott and J. Sargatal Received 15 April 1998; accepted 20 April 1999

j RaptorRes. 33(3):260-264 ¸ 1999 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc.

FOOD HABITS OF THE RUFOUS-LEGGEDOWL (STRIXRUFIPES) IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SCLEROPHYLLOUS FOREST OF CENTRAL CHILE

IVAN DiAz Laboratoriode Sistemtitica y Ecologia l&getal, Facultad de Ciencias,Universidad de Chile,Casilla 653, Santiago,Chile

K•Y WORDS: Rufous-leggedOwl; Strix rufipes; food habits; mation on the speciesis limited, and only plumage, hab- Mediterraneansclerophyllous foresP, central Chile. itat and distribution have been described (Housse 1945, Goodall et al. 1946,Johnson 1967, Vuilleumier 1985,Ar- The Rufous-leggedOwl (Strix rufipes) inhabits old- aya and Millie 1989). Martinez (1993a, 1996) and Mar- growth temperate rainforestof southernSouth America tinez and Jaksic(1996, 1997) have recentlyreported on (Housse 1945, Goodall et al. 1946, Johnson 1967, Vuil- population density, specific habitat requirements and leumier 1985, Martinez and Jaksic 1996, 1997). Infor- diet of the Rufous-leggedOwl in temperaterainforests of