The analyze of small mammals remains in the pellets of birds of prey in Southeast Anatolia region

In this study, the birds of preys? pellets and their remains which contain bones and skulls of some small mammals are analysed and the mammals of the South-East Anatolian region are investigated.The pellets of the birds of preys were collected from 23 localities of each city of the South-East Anatolia region. 1721 specimens of mammals were found in 835 pellets. These are Microtus guentheri, Mesocricetus auratus, Mesocricetus brandti, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Apodemus sylvaticus, Mus macedonicus, Crocidura suaveolens, Meriones tristrami, Rattus rattus, Cricetulus migratorius and belong to Insectivora, Chiroptera and Rodentia orders. The measurements of skulls were recorded. All measurements have been given in the tables. Some characters of skulls have been also shown on the figures. Morphological characters and measurements of the skulls were compared with the other previously published accounts.The results are show that Microtus guentheri and Mus macedonicus are dominant in the study area. Cricetulus migratorius, Crocidura suaveolens and Meriones tristrami were frequently found in the remains. Mesocricetus auratus, Mesocricetus brandti, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Apodemus sylvaticus and Rattus rattus were rarely found in the pellets. So these species are also living in this area.All skulls are deposited at Dicle University Science-Art Faculty Biology Department.