Multi‐axis niche partitioning in sympatric Strix owls: Breeding‐site segregation and trophic asymmetry in northern Belarus (1996–2014)

Niche partitioning among sympatric predators provides a mechanism for coexistence when prey guilds and activity schedules overlap. We analysed an archived breeding dataset comprising 43 Ural Owl Strix uralensis and 10 Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa breeding cases recorded in the Belarusian Lakeland during 1996–2014, quantifying niche breadth and niche overlap across nesting habitat, nest‐site attributes and diet expressed as percent consumed biomass. Overlap was low to moderate across nesting‐related axes (Bray–Curtis overlap = 0.38–0.49) and moderate for diet (0.54), while trophic niche breadth was approximately 1.9 times greater in Ural Owl ( B = 5.89) than in Great Grey Owl ( B = 3.16). The historical, site‐based nature of the dataset supports its use as comparative niche evidence rather than as a contemporary population estimate, and these compact niche metrics identify trophic asymmetry and nesting‐resource segregation that can inform prey‐aware monitoring and forest‐retention planning in hemiboreal predator assemblages.