Owl pellets have traces of hair and bones.
Owls, like most birds, cannot chew their food. However, unlike other birds, they do not have an organ called a crop, which is used to store the food they swallow for later digestion. Owls have a unique way of getting rid of any part of their prey that cannot be digested. The indigestible parts are expelled from the owl’s body in an owl pellet.
Owls are predators and swallow their prey whole.
Owls typically swallow their prey whole, small rodents, and whatever else they catch. Their food travels directly from the mouth to the gizzard, an organ that uses particles of sand, gravel, and digestive fluids to grind up and dissolve digestible parts of the prey. After the owl’s gizzard and intestines destroy the fat, muscle, skin, and internal organs, parts remain that cannot be digested. The teeth, claws, bones, fur, and other indigestible parts of the owl’s prey become part of the sediment.
The tweezers can be used to sift and separate the elements of an owl ball.
To excrete these bones, hair, teeth, and other trinkets from the prey, the material is compacted in the owl’s gizzard into a clean mass called an owl pellet. If the owl eats several animals in a short period of time, the pellet will contain the remains of more than one animal. Baby owls don’t pellet until they start eating their prey whole.
Owl pellets can be found where owls tend to roost, such as under trees.
A few hours after eating, an owl’s ball is usually fully formed, but it usually remains on the body for at least several more hours. The sediment is stored in a part of the owl’s body known as the proventriculus for up to 20 hours before being expelled from the body. The owl cannot eat again until the pellet is thrown as it blocks the entrance to the digestive system.
An owl pellet is made of owl bones, fur, teeth, and other prey that have been compacted into an organized mass in the bird’s gizzard.
Regurgitation of pellets is not an attractive process. The owl appears to be coughing and in pain, but is not actually injured by the pellet. The esophagus begins to spasm, forcing the projectile out. These spasms feel painful, but the ball remains moist and soft until it leaves the owl’s body. The entire regurgitation process can last anywhere from a few seconds to two or three minutes.
An owl ball can provide important clues about how an owl lives. The fang bones of the owl are not usually broken in the process and can be quickly identified. A pellet often includes a skull, making it even easier to identify the specific type of prey.
The texture and shape of the pellet varies depending on the species of owl and the prey it has consumed. The granules can be compacted tightly or loosely, irregularly or ovally shaped, hairy or dry. Owl pellets are usually found in places where owls roost, such as under trees and barn beams.
Owl pellets are unique and make great teaching tools. Any curious student, including children and adults, can dissect an owl ball to find out what the owl ate. Owl pellet kits are available at many teacher or educational supply stores. They usually include one or more granules, an explanation of how the granules are made, tweezers or something to separate the elements of the granules, and often a diagram of the common bones found in a granule for easy identification. .