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Considerations on the first confirmed nesting records of Tyto alba guttata in northern Italy
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 22 January 2026
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We report the first breeding records of two Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) nests regarded as belonging to the subspecies guttata of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba guttata) in northern Italy. On June 20th, 2025, a nesting female was captured and ringed in a nest box located in Ca’ Tron, Treviso Province. The individual was raising 7 chicks and exhibited typical plumage features associated with T. a. guttata. On June 24th, 2025, another female and her three chicks were ringed during an operation to recover a chick that had fallen from its nest in the San Fermo area, Mantua Province. These records suggest a possible expansion of the breeding range of the guttata morph/subspecies or, alternatively, an extreme example of morphological variability within a local population of Tyto alba. We briefly discuss the taxonomic implications and recommend further genetic and ecological investigations.
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How to Cite
Considerations on the first confirmed nesting records of Tyto alba guttata in northern Italy. (2026). Rivista Italiana Di Ornitologia. https://doi.org/10.4081/rio.2026.943
Copyright (c) 2026 Alessandro Nardotto, Cristian Bertolin, Maia Pastres, Lucio Panzarin, Davide Aldi
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