O. Gy. Dely szerk.: Vertebrata Hungarica 20. (Budapest, 1981)
Demeter, A.: Small mammals and the food of owls (Tyto and Bubo) in Northern Nigeria 127-136. o.
Owl pellets were collected from three localities (Table 1). Figure 1 is a map of the reserve with collecting localities Indicated. Table 1. Collection localities of pellets of Tyto alba and Bubo africanus Locality Habitat Species No.of owls at roost Date Kaiban Hills Wikki Wikki Futuk Rocky, outcrop Rocky gully Rocky gully Dilapidated rest house Bubo africanus Bubo africanus Tyto alba Tyto alba 23 July 1978 26 July - 16 Aug. 1978 11 Aug. 1978 _ 7 Aug. 1978 The habitats The vegetation of the reserve has been described in detail by GEERLING (1973). A woody savanna with a generally open canopy dominates the gently rolling landscape. The Gaü river flows through the reserve in a north-south direction and is- the only perennial source of water. Its flow is supplemented by five warm springs. West of the river, where I did most of my trapping, the savanna is mainly of two types: Afzelia savanna woodlands with Afzelia africana as the dominant tree species on gentle slopes, and Combreteous savanna woodlands sometimes with a well developed shrub layer on rather poor soils. Here combretaceous species dominate, with Burkea africana as usually the commonest tree, and the grass cover is dominated by the annual Hyparrhenia invblucra- ta and the perennial Andropogon gayanus. Combretaceous scrub savanna with Guiera senegalensis shrubs and emergent trees, occurs mainly on poor sandy soils. Pteleopsis haabensis woodlands form pure stands with a closed canopy and sparse ground cover especially along the gullies and steep slopes close the river. The Gaji-Yashi rivers are bordered by riparian vegetation. Swampy floodplains 100-500 m wide ("fadama") are made up of a complex of Cyperus swamps, Mimosa pigra shrubs, Jardjnea con- goensis grasslands and dry floodplaln grasslands. Tall evergreen swamp forests occur on waterlogged soil, but these were not trapped due to difficulties of access. Tall riparian woodlands of varying density form a belt along the edges of the floodplain; dominant trees include Malacantha alnifolia, Khaya senegalensis and Borassus aethiopum. RESULTS 120 specimens belonging to 13 species of small mammals were captured. An annotated list follows; asterisks indicate new records for the reserve. Insectivores Soricidae x Crocidura odorata (Leconte, 1857) Material: Wikki, 16 July 1978, 1 o.. This species, the largest of the Nigerian Crocidura, was previously considered to occur only in lowland forest east of the Niger river (HAPPOLD, pers. comm.). The single specimen was captured in riparian forest along Wikki stream. Crocidura pasha Dollman, 1915 X Material: Yashi river, 7-8 July 1978, 1 9 and 1 o*. This is a very small species distributed over northern Nigeria. Both specimens captured in Cyperus swamp .
