Serial polyandry and alloparenting in Long-eared Owls

We used DNA fingerprinting to document serial polyandry in a double-brooded female Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) in western Montana. We also determined that an extra male that helped provision offspring at a nest was a close relative of the female parent. The nest had split paternity, and it is not clear whether the helper was the sire or brother of two of the four nestlings. These data constitute the first known cases of serial polyandry and alloparenting in Long-eared Owls and leave open the question of whether cooperative polyandry also occurs in this species.