. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Birds. 55 [ Orn. CI. 1985 103(2)] distribution map was drawn up (Fig. 1). It is clear from the map that Barn Owls are more common at low altitudes (below 150 m) and along the southwestern plains of the Peninsula, although other nests and occasional sightings were recorded towards the northwest on Penang Island, together with a personal sighting of 2 birds in the centre of the Peninsula at Gua Musang (4°50'N, 101°55'E), Ulu Kelantan (100 m elevation). In September 1978 a record of "some" birds at Kuala Terengganu (5°22'N. 103°
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Birds. 55 [ Orn. CI. 1985 103(2)] distribution map was drawn up (Fig. 1). It is clear from the map that Barn Owls are more common at low altitudes (below 150 m) and along the southwestern plains of the Peninsula, although other nests and occasional sightings were recorded towards the northwest on Penang Island, together with a personal sighting of 2 birds in the centre of the Peninsula at Gua Musang (4°50'N, 101°55'E), Ulu Kelantan (100 m elevation). In September 1978 a record of "some" birds at Kuala Terengganu (5°22'N. 103° 08'E). on the east coast. was reported and a photograph of one specimen supported the statement, although no further information for that area was obtained during the study _:-: : 5- :!- > A W •* • • *&- iK Figure 1. Distribution of nest sites and individual sightings of Barn Chvls Tyto alba in the Malay Peninsula. Dots are placed in the centre of 20 km squares. The grid is 100 km x 100 km. On 2 occasions in 1973 and 1974 Holmes & Wells (1975) sighted Barn Owls just over the Perlis border in the Satun Province of Thailand (c. 6°40'N, 99°55'E). At present Barn Owls have a nesting and roosting preference for oil palm, and only 6% of birds were found in other habitats. The bias towards oil palm is almost certainly due to the superabundance of rats infesting the plantations and is reflected in the analysis of the oral pellets showing that 98% of the diet consisted of the rat species which exploit this habitat (Lenton 1984). Origin The previous virtual absence of Tyto alba from the equatorial zone of South East Asia poses the question whether the present population of the Malay Peninsula has a northern or southern hemisphere origin, or whether both elements are Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1893
