Verreaux's Eagle-Owl - Food

Food

The Verreaux's Eagle-Owl is considered an avian apex predator, meaning it is at or near the top of the food chain and healthy adults have no natural predators. They hunt predominantly in early evening though have been observed to swoop on prey during daylight. The owls usually fly to a different perch from their daytime roost to do their hunting. Verreaux's Eagle Owls mainly hunt by gliding down on their prey from a perch.

Full-grown owls feed on a variety of prey items, with medium-sized mammals and large birds being preferred. Commonly recorded mammalian prey has included young monkeys, springhares, hares, genets, hyraxes, mongoose, ground squirrels, fruit bats and various rats and mice. They are one of the very few birds to favor hedgehogs as prey. When hedgehogs are caught, as in the Eurasian Eagle-Owl, the spiky skin on their backs are peeled and discarded. Avian prey can range in size from weavers and waxbills to large herons and bustards and can include francolins, guineafowl, ducks, nestling vultures, nestling bateleurs, secretarybirds, hornbills and young cranes. Other prey can vary considerably, including reptiles, toads, fish and arthropods including insects, millipedes, scorpions and spiders. They have been observed actively hawking for insects in flight. They have been recorded to fly with mongoose weighing over 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) and have killed and flown with even larger half-grown vervet monkeys. Very large prey items, such as warthog piglets and Denham's Bustards, may be too heavy if they are heavier than the predating owl and, in such cases, will be left at the kill site for both owls in a pair to return to and feed on repeatedly. On occasion, they hunt by flying low over a bush to catch prey by surprise or dash into dense foliage to catch a galago or other arboreal prey item. They will also sometimes run after prey on the ground or wade into shallow waters to pin down fish. Near cities, their prey can include common urban creatures such as rats and pigeons. Although they overlap in range with several raptors, including larger eagles such as Crowned, Martial and Verreaux's Eagle, they rarely interact and are likely to rarely compete given their differing periods of activity. However, any other owl encountered, including the very large Pel's Fishing Owl, are potential prey for the Verreaux's Eagle Owl.