Status of the Eagle Owl in Italy
According to Lardelli et al. (2022), the Eagle Owl is slightly declining in Italy; it appears to have disappeared from Abruzzo, but it is still present in Basilicata and Calabria. Although it is an elusive species and may well be underestimated, between 2013 and 2018 the Italian population was estimated at 250-340 pairs, with a possible upward trend. Several disturbance factors have been assessed, all of anthropogenic origin, which may be identified as causes of local decline or disappearance: collision with power lines, electrocution, sport climbing, nest photography, excessive use of rodenticides, poaching, road traffic, installation of rockfall netting, reforestation, etc.
According to Burfield et al. (2023), the Eagle Owl in Europe is classified as NonSpec, that is, a species with a favourable conservation status in Europe. It should be stressed that many assessments made at the European level are often based mainly on the status in Central Europe; nevertheless, the Italian Red List (Gustin et al. 2021) also assigns the Eagle Owl the category LC (Least Concern).
The Italian trend over 175 years, shown in the table below, indicates a genuinely fluctuating population, with the sole exception of the extinction in Sicily, which occurred in the 1970s.
| Before 1872 | Between 1930 and 1993 | Between 1994 and 2025 | Trend 1872-2025 | 1850-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (NonSpec, LC) | Resident throughout the Italian peninsula and Sicily | Resident throughout the Italian peninsula and Sicily, declining | Resident throughout the Italian peninsula, declining, extinct in Sicily | Resident in the Italian peninsula, probably fluctuating | Fluctuating |
Status of the Eagle Owl in Sicily
Its presence in Sicily was historically documented and the population must have been fairly substantial; specimens (both adults and nestlings) from various Sicilian localities are preserved in several museums.
According to Iapichino & Massa (1989), the last confirmed breeding record in Sicily was at San Nicola l’Arena in 1935 (Orlando 1957). Palazzotto (1830) wrote: “Presso noi è stazionario, ma scarso, abita nei boschi” (“With us it is resident, but scarce; it lives in the woods”). Doderlein (1869-74) considered it rare in the woodlands of the Madonie and Ficuzza, and also on Monte Pellegrino, where he took a nestling that is preserved, together with two adults, in the Museum of Zoology of the University of Palermo. Giglioli (1889-1890) reported it as a rare resident breeder near Messina and Palermo, scarce at Modica, and recorded breeding in April at Manche di Alfano near Geraci (Madonie). At least 25 Sicilian specimens are preserved in various museums, 12 of them from the period 1932-1976: Geraci, autumn 1932 and San Giuseppe Iato, autumn 1935 (Orlando 1957); Bisacquino, November 1938 (Ajola, 1939); Racalmuto 1940 (Iapichino & Massa, 1989); Scillato, autumn 1941, Prizzi, March 1945, Madonie c. 1948 (Orlando 1957); near Enna, November 1954 (Priolo 1972); Cefalù, June 1955 (Orlando 1957); Baucina, winter 1961 (Iapichino & Massa, 1989); Cesarò, June 1964 (Priolo 1972) and Capodarso (Caltanissetta), January 1976 (Iapichino & Massa, 1989). The extinction is probably more recent than the last breeding records would suggest. The calls of this species heard by Baglieri & Fagotto (1978) along the River Anapo were probably those of an individual escaped from captivity. The extinction was confirmed by extensive surveys in numerous suitable areas using the tape-lure method during the period 1983-1986 (Sarà et al., 1987). The causes of the extinction are not known, but poaching and specimen collecting probably played a part.
The status of this species in Sicily is summarised in the table below.
| Benoit, 1840; Doderlein, 1869-1874; Giglioli, 1907 | Whitaker, 1920 | Iapichino & Massa, 1989; Lo Valvo & Massa, 2000 | Corso, 2005; Ientile & Massa, 2008 | 2010-2025, Massa et al., 2015 | Trend | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Owl Bubo bubo | Resident breeder, scarce | Resident breeder, scarce | Extinct (1970s) | Extinct | Extinct | Extinct |
The Diet of the Eagle Owl
According to a study by Papageorgiou et al. (1993), the Eagle Owl in Greece feeds 47% on birds and 43% on mammals. The remaining prey is divided among amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. The list of birds preyed upon is very long, with the Jay Garrulus glandarius in first place, but other corvids and some columbids are also taken in significant proportions. Predation on individual diurnal and nocturnal raptors has also been recorded. Among mammals, prey consists mainly of small species, hares, voles and dormice. These are mostly species that are fairly widespread in Sicily, in some cases (e.g. the dormouse) considered harmful to the hazel groves of the Nebrodi. Other studies on the diet of the Eagle Owl in Italy exist, and their results do not differ substantially from these.
Reintroduction Proposal for Sicily
As part of its projects for environmental restoration and the rebuilding of food webs in Sicily, the Fondazione Internazionale Biodiversità del Mediterraneo has carried out a number of trials for a project to reintroduce the Eagle Owl to the island.
Before carrying out an Appropriate Assessment (Valutazione d’Incidenza) for the reintroduction of this species, captive breeding was attempted.
For this purpose, a pair of Eagle Owls was acquired and housed in one of the aviaries at Isnello. The size of these structures is perfectly suited to the captive breeding of the Eagle Owl; moreover, they were built so that the birds can see the surrounding environment from inside (in this case the crags of Isnello), but not the people who care for them and bring them food and water. The only direct contact with humans occurs when the interior of the aviary is cleaned and maintained.
The birds bred, laying two eggs from which two chicks hatched; they are now more than one month old. Like the adults, the chicks too are fitted with a CITES identification ring.
References
Ajola G., 1939. Catture interessanti per la provincia di Palermo. Riv. ital. Orn., 9: (1-4 dell’estratto).
Arrigoni Degli Oddi E., 1929. Ornitologia italiana. Hoepli, Milano.
Baglieri S., Fagotto F., 1978. Accertata la sopravvivenza del Gufo reale ( Bubo bubo (L.) in Sicilia. Naturalista sicil., 2: 85-86.
Benoit L., 1840. Ornitologia Siciliana. Stamperia G. Fiumara, Messina.
Brichetti P. & Fracasso G., 2018. The birds of Italy. Volume 1. Anatidae-Alcidae. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), “historia naturae”, pp. 512.
Brichetti P. & Fracasso G., 2020. The birds of Italy. Volume 2. Pteroclidae-Locustellidae. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), “historia naturae”, pp. 415.
Brichetti P. & Fracasso G., 2022. The birds of Italy. Volume 3. Cisticolidae-Icteridae. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), “historia naturae”, pp. 436.
Burfield, I.J., Rutherford, C.A., Fernando, E., Grice, H., Piggott, A., Martin, R.W., Balman, M., Evans, M.I., Staneva, A., 2023. Birds in Europe 4: the fourth assessment of Species of European Conservation Concern. Bird Conservation Intern., 33, e66, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270923000187.
Corso A., 2005. Avifauna di Sicilia. L’Epos ed., Palermo.
Doderlein P., 1869-74. Avifauna del Modenese e della Sicilia. Giornale Scienze naturali ed economiche, 5: 137-195; 6: 187-236; 7: 9-72; 8: 40-124; 9: 28-93; 10: 35-71, 133-148.
Giglioli H.E., 1889-1890. Primo resoconto dei risultati dell’Inchiesta Ornitologica. Parte I. Avifauna Italica (1889). Parte II. Avifaune locali (1890). Le Monnier, Firenze.
Giglioli H.E., 1907. Secondo resoconto dei risultati dell’Inchiesta Ornitologica in Italia. Avifauna Italica. Tip. S. Giuseppe, Firenze.
Grussu M., 2022. New checklist of the birds of Sardinia (Italy). Edition 2022. Aves Ichnusae, 12: 3-62.
Gustin M., Brambilla M. & Celada C., 2016. Stato di conservazione e valore di riferimento favorevole per le popolazioni di uccelli nidificanti in Italia. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia, 86 (2):3-58.
Gustin M., Nardelli R., Brichetti P., Battistoni A., Rondinini C. & Teofili C. (compilatori), 2021. Lista Rossa IUCN degli uccelli nidificanti in Italia 2021. Comitato Italiano IUCN e Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Roma.
Iapichino C. & Massa B., 1989. The Birds of Sicily. British Ornithologists’Union. Check-list n.11, London.
Ientile R. & Massa B., 2008. Uccelli (Aves). In: AA.VV., Atlante della Biodiversità della Sicilia: Vertebrati terrestri. Studi & Ricerche Arpa Sicilia, Palermo 6: 115-211.
Lardelli R., Bogliani G., Caprio E., Celada C., Fraticelli F., Gustin M., Janni O., Pedrini P., Puglisi L., Rubolini D., Ruggieri L., Spina F., Tinarelli R., Calvi G. & Brambilla M. (a cura di), 2022. Atlante degli Uccelli nidificanti in Italia. Ed. Belvedere, Latina, 704 pp.
Lo Valvo F. & Massa B., 2000. Catalogo della collezione ornitologica Joseph Whitaker (1850-1936). Il Naturalista siciliano, 24 (suppl.): 3-145.
Martorelli G., 1906. Gli Uccelli d’Italia. Rizzoli & C., Milano.
Massa B., Ientile R., Aradis A. & Surdo S., 2021. One hundred and fifty years of ornithology in Sicily, with an unknown manuscript by Joseph Whitaker. Biodiversity Journal, 12: 27-89.
Massa B., Lo Cascio P., Ientile R., Canale E.D. & La Mantia T., 2015. Gli Uccelli delle isole circumsiciliane. Naturalista sicil., 39 (2): 105-373.
Meschini E. & Frugis S. (eds.), 1993. Atlante degli Uccelli nidificanti in Italia. Suppl. Ricerche Biologia Selvaggina, 20: 1-344.
Orlando C., 1957. Contributo allo studio delle forme europee del Bubo bubo (L.). Riv. ital. Orn., 27: 42-57.
Palazzotto B., 1830. Materiali pell’Ornitologia Sicula. Manoscritto custodito presso la Biblioteca Comunale di Palermo.
Papageorgiou N.K., Vlachos C.G. & Bakaloudis D.E., 1993. Diet and nest site characteristics of Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) breeding in two different habitats in north-eastern Greece. Avocetta, 17: 49-54.
Priolo A., 1972. Brevi note ornitologiche dalla Sicilia orientale. Riv. ital. Orn., 42: 430-434.
Salvadori T., 1872. Fauna d’Italia. Uccelli (Ristampa anastatica, Forni Ed., Bologna, 353 pp.).
Sarà M., Siracusa M. & Ciaccio A., 1987. Estinzione del Gufo reale, Bubo bubo, in Sicilia. Rivista italiana di Ornitologia, 57: 50-56.
Schenk H., 1976. Analisi della situazione faunistica in Sardegna. Uccelli e Mammiferi. Pag. 465-556 in: SOS Fauna. Animali in pericolo in Italia. WWF Ed. Camerino.
Image Gallery:
