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Seed predation and dispersal can critically influence plant community structure and dynamics. Inter‐specific differences arising at these early stages play a crucial role on tree recruitment patterns, which in turn could influence forest dynamics and species segregation in heterogeneous environments such as Mediterranean forests. We investigated removal rates from acorns set onto the ground in two coexisting Mediterranean oak species –Quercus canariensis and Q. suber– in southern Spain. We developed maximum likelihood estimators to investigate the main factors controlling probabilities of seed removal and to describe species‐specific functional responses. To account for inter‐specific differences in seed‐drop timing, two experiments were established: a simultaneous exposure of acorns of the two species (synchronous experiments) and a seed exposure following their natural seed‐drop phenology …