Posatoi artificiali abbinati a fototrappole: preferenze alimentari dell’Averla piccola Lanius collurio

The Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio is a passerine bird that hunts from exposed perches on sides of trees or bushes, catching its preys mostly in low grasslands or on the ground. The aim of this study was to test a new sampling method useful to investigate the presence of this species and its diet composition. Three artificial roosts, each combined with a camera trap, were set in a locality of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine Mountains (Central Italy). The research was carried out in 2016 and 2018 in summer, from June 1th to August 31th. The study place was located 1.100 m above the sea level and was mostly composed of open meadows with scattered bushes, shrubs and some trees. The total number of recorded camera events was 9773 and the species that mostly used the artificial roosts was the Red-backed Shrike (96.85%). Among all images of L. collurio, it was possible to recognize the prey in 476 images. Over 96% of prey items were insects, with prevalence of Orthoptera (42%) and Hymenoptera (14%). About 4% of the prey were Aranea.