La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Using stable isotopes to investigate the provenance of an Eagle Owl found in Norfolk
Auteurs :	Andrew Kelly, Auteur ; Kevin Leighton, Auteur ; Jason Newton, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	British Birds (103(4) APR 2010)
Article en page(s) :	213-222
Résumé :	The stable isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen were analysed in two generations of feather growth in a second- or third-calendar-year female Eagle Owl Bubo bubo found in Norfolk in November 2006. We found that the juvenile primaries and secondaries had a consistently low delta H-2 signature, while second-generation remiges, and body feathers, revealed higher values. The pattern in delta H-2 between the two generations of feathers from the Norfolk bird corresponds with the known moult patterns of Eagle Owls and suggests that the two generations of feathers were grown in different geographical regions. Although there are a number of alternative explanations for the findings, it seems most likely that the owl was reared somewhere with low local delta H-2 precipitation values. An origin in Scandinavia, north-continental Europe or mid-continental Russia is consistent with our findings, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the bird was reared in northern Britain, either in the wild or in captivity.

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